You Belong With Me
by Brandi Golightly
Summary: AU: Natasha Romanoff is in love with her best friend and next door neighbor, Clint Barton. But he'll never know because she doesn't want to ruin their friendship. And he's dating Bobbi Morse. Based on the song "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift. Other Taylor Swift songs may be incorporated later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! I have another AU story here for you! I've been on this Taylor Swift kick recently and I've been having major Clintasha feels because of it. If any of you have ever heard the song "You Belong With Me" or have seen the video, this story is going to follow that. If you haven't, go look it up on YouTube.**

**It probably wasn't a smart idea for me to start a new story when I already have two others in progress AND my fall semester starts in like three weeks, but I needed to get this out of my head. Otherwise, it would be bugging me.**

**Anyways, I hope this catches your interest! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, nor do I own the song "You Belong With Me." They belong to Marvel and Taylor Swift respectively.**

* * *

Natasha Romanoff awoke to the sound of her alarm clock blaring from her bedside table. Lazily, she rolled over onto her side and slapped the snooze button to earn her a couple more minutes of sleep. Like clockwork, she heard her cell phone buzz from her bedside table, letting her know that she had a text message. She groaned as she rolled over to snatch the device off of the table and open the text message to read it.

_Wake up!_ it read. Natasha couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face. There was only one person in the whole entire world who knew that she immediately hit the snooze button as soon as her alarm went off at 6:30 in the morning. And that person just so happened to live right next door.

_Calm down_, Natasha typed back. _I'm awake now!_ She hit the send button and watched as the screen flashed that the message had successfully been sent. She stared at the screen for a couple more seconds, eagerly awaiting a reply. When she didn't receive her reply, she rolled out of bed and padded across her room to yank open the curtains.

Directly across from her window was the window to Clint Barton's bedroom. On schedule, Clint entered and strode across the room, picking up his phone from his unkempt bed. His back was turned towards Natasha but she knew there was a smile spreading across his face as he read her message. He turned around and waved at her and she waved back.

This was how it went every morning. Natasha's alarm clock would go off and she would immediately hit the snooze button. Not even a minute later, she would always receive a message from Clint, demanding that she get up. She would send a message back but he wouldn't respond. That's when Natasha would get up to open the curtains and see Clint smiling back at her from the window directly across from hers. It was routine. It was like clockwork.

Natasha watched as Clint disappeared from the window and she did the same, plopping down in her desk chair and firing up her laptop. The ancient device whirred to life and made some strange beeping noises as it loaded Natasha's desktop. While she waited for her laptop to load, she stood in front of her closet, trying to decide what she wanted to wear to school. She pulled a pair of jeans and a red shirt from their hangers and then strode over to her dresser to pull out a bra and underwear.

She glanced back at her laptop and saw it struggling to open her desktop. Natasha shrugged her shoulders, gathered up her clothes, and headed to the bathroom to give her laptop more time. Once she was dressed, she slapped on just a hint of makeup and a dab of perfume. She fluffed up her curls, brushed her teeth, and then tossed her sleep clothes into the hamper on her way back to her bedroom.

She sat back down at her desk and double clicked on the icon to open her personal schedule. It seemed strange that every day she needed to check what was on her agenda, but she was always so busy, she could barely remember the days of the week. Every day after school, she had some sort of activity that she took part in. One day it could be Pilates, the next it could be gymnastics. Some days, it was both.

Today, she was scheduled to be at the gym to practice her balance beam routine for her competition on Saturday. What time on Saturday, she had no clue. She would find out when she woke up Saturday morning for the competition. What she did know was she had to be at the gym by five o'clock or her coach, Ivan Petrovitch, would have her head on a platter.

Natasha checked the time in the corner of the screen and noticed she had ten minutes until she had to meet Clint out at the bus stop. She powered down her laptop and grabbed her backpack – double checking that she had all of her books and materials – and then bounded down the steps to grab a Pop Tart before heading out the front door.

At the same time, Natasha saw Clint step out into the cool autumn morning and he nodded for her to follow him to the bus stop. Natasha bounded down her front porch steps and sprinted to catch up with Clint. When she reached his side, she fell into step with him as they walked down the sidewalk of their suburban neighborhood towards their bus stop.

"And how are you this morning Miss Romanoff?" Clint had greeted her when she caught up with him.

"I am fine. How is Mr. Barton doing?" Natasha said back, playing along.

"Mr. Barton is very tired," Clint joked and Natasha giggled at his lame response. Clint was always awake before Natasha in the mornings and he usually had to coax her out of bed with text messages, but he was always the tired one.

They reached the corner of the sidewalk and joined the rest of their friends, who were also waiting for the bus. Thor greeted Clint and Natasha with a hearty wave, while Tony offered Clint a high five, only to snatch his hand away at the last second.

"So, you have to go to the gym tonight?" Clint asked Natasha as they stood waiting for the bus.

"Yeah, I have to work on my routine for the beam," Natasha said, casting her eyes down at the sidewalk.

"Your competition is on Saturday right?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, all day," Natasha mumbled, her eyes still trained on her feet.

"I guess that means you won't be coming to the game Friday night," Clint said. He almost sounded disappointed.

"Probably not. Sorry Clint. I know this is the biggest game of the year for you," Natasha said, looking up to see the disappointment in his eyes. Clint was the starting quarterback for their high school's football team. Not only was it homecoming, but college football scouts would be coming to watch the school's football players play. By the end of the night, he could possibly have an offer to play football at some big shot university.

"It's okay. What time is your competition on Saturday?"

Natasha racked her brain, trying to remember what time it would be and where it would be. "I think it's at noon. But it's like an hour away."

Clint hummed a response as he absorbed the information she just gave him. "Maybe I'll try to make it," Clint said nonchalantly.

"Oh no, you don't have to. It's really not that big of a deal. It's just a regional competition," Natasha said defensively.

"Yeah, but you could totally be crowned the regional champion and then go onto the state competition," Clint countered.

Natasha shrugged but didn't say a word. She didn't have much faith in herself but Clint always did. Rarely did he attend a competition of hers but when he did, he was her personal cheerleader. Knowing that he was there always made her more determined to push herself and go for the win.

"I know you can do it, with or without me there," Clint said. His words hit her square in the chest. No, not in the chest, in the heart. When he said stuff like this, it made her realize just how in love she was with him, but he didn't know that and he probably never would. It was just better for them to be friends. It was simple and it wouldn't ruin their friendship. Plus, there was just one minor obstacle in Natasha's way.

Almost as if on cue, a red convertible squealed around the corner and halted right in front of the bus stop. The driver had her golden blonde hair pulled up into a tight ponytail and dark black shades wrapped around her face. Her cheeks were pink from the wind whipping at them and Natasha rolled her eyes at how incredibly ridiculous it was that she had the top down in the middle of October.

The driver pulled the shades off of her face to reveal her baby blue eyes. She tossed her sunglasses into the cup holder and said "Hey baby."

"Hi lover," Tony joked.

"Fuck off Stark," the girl said and then turned her attention to Clint. "Want a ride?"

"Sure," Clint said as he pulled open the door and slid into the front seat. The blonde girl leaned over and crushed her lips against Clint's. The sight of this almost made Natasha upchuck, but she gulped and turned her head to the side to give the two of them some privacy.

"Hey Natasha. How are you?" Natasha heard the blonde girl say and she turned her head to face Clint and the girl.

Natasha offered up the fakest smile she could manage. "I'm good. How are you Bobbi?"

"Would you like to tag along too?" Bobbi offered.

"No, no, I'm good. I'll just wait for the bus," Natasha said.

"Okay then," Bobbi said as she slid her sunglasses back onto her face. She turned back to Clint and slapped a smile on her face. "Ready babe?"

Clint nodded as Bobbi revved the engine. Clint turned back to Natasha and said, "See you at school, Nat," but his words were drowned out by the engine as Bobbi sped off down the road.

Natasha heard Tony scoff. "She thinks she's hot shit. I bet she's never been behind the wheel of a Lamborghini."

As Natasha drowned out Tony's rant about Lamborghinis, she turned her head to stare off into the distance. There were so many things she wanted to say to Clint. She wanted to tell him that his archery skills were far better than his football skills. She wanted him to know that it was okay if he wanted to do archery instead of football in college. She wanted him to know that his girlfriend was a total bitch behind his back.

Most importantly, she wanted him to know about the countless times she had written "I love you" on her notepad when they were writing messages back and forth to one another between their windows. She had all of them stashed in her desk drawer, too chicken to throw them out. She wanted him to know, but he never could. What they had was too good and she didn't want to ruin it. They were both satisfied as best friends. Clint had Bobbi anyways. As much of a back stabber as she was, Clint was happy with her. There was no way Clint could ever be happy with Natasha.

But it was killing her. She just wanted him to know. The weight would be taken off of her shoulders if he knew.

_If only he knew._

* * *

**I hope that caught you guys' interest. Please review to let me know what you guys think so far and if you would like me to continue it. Like I said, I have two other stories in progress (though _Hearing Damage_ only has one chapter left so there will only be one other in progress when it's finished) and classes start in three weeks, so bear with me here. But review please! Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I'm loving all the feedback and it makes me happy knowing that you guys love the concept of the story. This is just a small chapter. There will (hopefully) be a longer update tomorrow. Therefore, please enjoy this tidbit of an update!**

* * *

The Friday nights before a competition were usually the night Natasha caught up on all of her homework and studied for most of her exams. There was something about AP European History and Honors French that calmed her nerves the night before a competition. Maybe it was the fact that it took her mind off of her upcoming competition, or maybe it was the fact that it made her feel better that she was finally caught up on all her school work. Either way, it was a ritual for her to do her schoolwork the night before a competition.

As she turned the page of her AP European History textbook, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced up at the clock and saw that it was almost eleven. She turned her head to look out the window and saw Clint tossing his football helmet onto his bed in frustration. He stripped off his football jersey and then disappeared from his room for a couple seconds.

While Clint was absent from his bedroom, Natasha jumped from her bed and padded over to her desk to retrieve the oversized notebook and black marker she used to write messages to Clint. She pulled open the drawer where she stashed the materials and was greeted with the pile of discarded "I love you" messages. She smiled at the sight of them and then pushed them aside to grab the notebook and marker from underneath the pile.

She returned to her bed, sitting on the edge facing the window as she scribbled her message on a fresh piece of paper. She looked up to see Clint return to his room in a clean t-shirt and shorts. She reached over to her bedside table and pulled open the drawer to grab one of the many small pebbles she stashed there.

She slid off the edge of her bed and walked over to the window, heaving open the window to toss the pebble against Clint's window. It bounced off of his window with a _plink_ and it immediately caught Clint's attention. He whipped around, the angry grimace immediately disappearing from his face when he saw Natasha. He smiled at her and she smiled back as she retracted from the window, shutting it once she was back safely in her room.

Without taking her eyes off of the window, she reached behind her to grab the notebook and she held it up to the window so Clint could see. She didn't really need to hold it very close; Clint always claimed he saw better from a distance.

_How'd the game go?_ Natasha's message read. Clint eyes scanned over the message and then held up one finger to tell her to hang on. He disappeared from the window once again only to reappear moments later scribbling on a similar oversized notebook like Natasha's. He turned it around to reveal his untidy scrawl.

_We lost. No offers for me._ Natasha frowned at Clint's message and then flipped the page in her notebook to write on a blank piece of paper. She scribbled across the page and then turned it around to reveal her message.

_I'm telling you. Archery's your calling._ She saw Clint chuckle and then he flipped his page to write on a blank sheet as well. She watched as his marker flew across the paper, his tongue sticking out in concentration.

_There aren't scholarships for archery._ Natasha saw the frown appear on his face as he revealed his message. She angrily turned the page and furiously wrote her message, the marker angrily scratching across the paper.

_Who cares what Bobbi thinks?_ Natasha knew that his main concern was making his girlfriend happy and proud, which is not the way to go. Natasha wanted Clint to be happy with his life choices. Football definitely wasn't his thing, even though he was extremely good at it. However, he was even better at archery.

Clint's girlfriend, Bobbi Morse, was not a fan of Clint's hidden talent and forced him to refrain from showing off when she was over at his house. She constantly argued that it wasn't a real sport but really, it required as much concentration and perseverance as any other sport.

Even though Bobbi constantly said that she wanted Clint to get a great football scholarship so he can do great things out of high school. He could become a big college football star and then possibly go on to play in the NFL. In reality, Bobbi just wanted to be able to brag that her boyfriend was a huge football star. She didn't care about his happiness; she only cared about her own.

_Snarky much?_ Clint's new message read. Natasha laughed at his message and then she turned the page in her notebook and began to scribble her message across the paper.

_Just looking out for you_. Natasha flashed him a small smile and he returned the gesture. Then, he turned his attention back to his notebook to write down one last message. He looked at the paper and then tore it from the notebook, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it on the floor. Every so often he did this when he made a mistake while he was frustrated but would automatically continue to write his message on another piece of paper.

_Thanks Tasha. Goodnight!_ His latest message said. Natasha smiled and then bent her head to write her last message to Clint for the evening. She struggled with what she should say. Should she just say goodnight back? Or should she finally reveal her true feelings? Should she finally write him that message with those three simple words?

Her heart won over her mind and she frantically scribbled those three simple words on the paper. She picked up the notebook to turn it around to reveal her true feelings but her heart sank into her stomach when she noticed the curtains were drawn across the window.

She stared at the dark window for a couple more seconds before tearing her feelings out of the notebook and then sluggishly dragged her feet over to her desk so she could let her latest "I love you" join the rest of the broken hearts.

* * *

**Poor Natasha! Like I said, I will (hopefully) give you guys a longer update tomorrow. Also, for those of you that like my other Clintasha fic, _Hearing Damage_, I hope to have that done tomorrow too.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of Clint and Natasha's wordy yet silent exchange.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Sorry this update is so late. I started this chapter and didn't like how it sounded so I scrapped it and started over. I hope this one is good enough. And just an FYI, I have no idea how the current system of scoring gymnastics works nor do I understand the past system so just go with what I have haha. Therefore, enjoy!**

* * *

She felt the weightlessness as she dismounted from the beam. She twisted in the air, counting in her head three times, before her feet connected with the mat. She caught her balance and then lifted her arms in the air to signify the end of her routine.

The crowd cheered as she bounded down the steps from the competition area to join her coach on the sidelines. Ivan offered a high five to Natasha and then he enveloped her into a hug.

"That was the best it's ever been," Ivan whispered in her ear. "You've got this." Ivan released Natasha from the hug and then patted her on the back. He directed her towards a chair and handed her a cold bottle of water. As thirsty and exhausted as she was, she only took a few sips as she waited for her score. She glared at the screen until her score was revealed – a 9.8 – and Natasha smiled.

The beam was always her forte, and she was happy that she got it out of the way. However, she was going to have to work really hard from this point on. Her vault would be no problem. It was the uneven bars and the floor exercise she would have to worry about. She always forgot to point her toes on the uneven bars and she almost always came super close to stepping out of bounds on her floor exercise routine. She was going to really have to focus.

She sat on the sidelines, stretching and sipping small amounts of water as she watched her fellow competitors follow through on their beam routines. One girl was extremely sloppy, always checking her balance and she even touched the beam with her hands to steady herself. One girl even completely fell off the beam, causing her to cut her routine short. Watching these girls constantly make ridiculous mistakes made Natasha feel confident she would still be in the lead by the end of the balance beam performances. Lo and behold, she was right.

When it was time to start the vault performances, Natasha began to stretch her legs and arms. Natasha was first to go since she was in the lead, so she had to prepare as quickly as possible. When her name flashed across the screen, she bounded up the steps to the competition area and rubbed the white chalk powder on her hands and legs before stepping up. She took in a deep breath before running full force towards the vault.

First, her feet connected with the springboard, and then her hands pushed off of the vault. Next she knew, she was airborne, twisting through the air again with her arms hugged to her chest and her legs stick straight. She prepared herself for the dismount and she felt her feet connect with the mat. She steadied herself – and she knew she could have done better – but she raised her hands above her head and the crowd cheered.

Once again, she bounded down the steps and Ivan offered up another high five and then pulled her into a hug. "Could've done better but you did a good job," Ivan said as he directed her towards the chairs. As she headed over to her seat, she glanced up to the crowd to search for her parents. She noticed them sitting about five rows back, and seated next to them was Clint. She would've been happy that he came if he hadn't brought Bobbi with him.

With the exception of the occasional snarky comment, Clint didn't know Natasha didn't like Bobbi. Her presence irked Natasha and she knew that with Bobbi here, there was no way she'd be able to focus properly. She took a seat in a chair and awaited the results of her vault. It came out to be an 8.9. Yes, she could've done better, much better, and she hoped that by the end of this round, she'd still be in the lead.

She relaxed for a couple minutes watching the other competitors take on the vault. After a couple minutes, Natasha got up and started to gear up for the uneven bars. She strapped on her grips and then awaited the current standings. When the names flashed on the screen, Natasha was still in the lead but only by a little bit.

Since she was still in the lead, she was the first to compete in the uneven bars. She stepped up into the competition area, the cheers of her audience almost making her go deaf. Glancing back into the audience, she saw her parents, Clint, and Bobbi, who was desperately trying to get Clint's attention. It was so typical of her. Clint's attention was on Natasha right now and Bobbi couldn't handle it. She had to be the center of attention.

Natasha had to look away. Otherwise she would throw up all the water she had been drinking so she turned her attention towards the uneven bars. They were Natasha's least favorite event. She liked the thrill she got from performing them, but she always got points deducted for not pointing her toes or making sloppy transitions from one bar to the other.

Natasha stepped up to the lower bar and took a deep breath before jumping up and grabbing hold of it, swinging around to begin her routine. Literally a couple seconds into her routine, she realized her transition from the lower bar to the higher bar was very sloppy. Then she screwed up again when she had trouble keeping herself straight for her handstand. As she spun around one more time, she released herself from the bar for her dismount. She stumbled, taking a step forward to catch her balance, and then raised her arms above her head to signal the end of her routine.

The audience applauded and Natasha bounded down the steps. She ignored Ivan's congratulatory high five and hug because she knew he would make some snide comment about how her performance wasn't very good. Instead, she glanced up into the audience again. Bobbi was _still_ trying to get Clint's attention and she was getting a very limited response from him. Natasha and Clint's eyes locked on each other and Clint flashed a smile. Natasha responded by grinning back at him then hung her head as she headed back to her chair to await her score.

Apparently the judges liked what they saw because they awarded Natasha with a 9.3. Obviously they noticed the mistakes that Natasha noticed herself but Natasha thought she did far worse. She was satisfied with her score and prepared herself for the final event: floor exercise.

Natasha always felt like a ditz when she performed for the floor exercise. It was a combination of gymnastics and dancing. Really lame dancing, but she made up for it in her musical selection. She tried to choose instrumental music from films within the past few years. However, for Natasha, one of her favorite films was _Atonement_, and she rather enjoyed the score. Therefore, for her floor exercise, she was currently using excerpts from the score of that film.

When all of the competitors had finished, the scores were ranked and Natasha was barely hanging on in first place. She desperately needed a ten for her floor exercise routine to stay in the top spot and earn the gold for the regional competition. It would also earn her a spot at the state championships.

Being in first place had its perks, but it also had its drawbacks. One of those drawbacks included going first in performing. She took a deep breath as her name came up on the screen and she mounted the steps up to the competition area. She thought she would hear the all-too-deafening roar of the audience when she made it up the steps, but her nervousness seemed to drown it out.

She grabbed a handful of chalk and rubbed it over her hands and legs and then positioned her feet inside the giant blue square. She heard the chromatic scales of the piano kick in and she felt herself go flying across the floor. With every twist and every flip, she hoped that she was doing well. She was feeling confident enough that she would win the gold, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

As the music faded out, she posed on the floor, heaving deep breaths. She composed herself and then bounded down the steps, graciously taking up Ivan's offer for a high five and a hug. She was finally done with the competition. Now, she played the waiting game. The judges never revealed the score for the final event until it came time to crown the winners.

Natasha made her way over to the line of chairs. As she was walking over, she noticed Clint leaning over the side of the barrier with his arm dangling. Natasha smiled as she approached him and then laughed at how ridiculous he looked.

"You're going to get the gold," he stated bluntly.

Natasha scoffed. "It's going to be close." She walked off to sit down in the chair and grabbed her sweatpants and sweatshirt from her bag. Pulling her clothes on, she watched the competitors as they bounced around on the floor to the rhythm of the music. Many of the competitors had chosen classical music so Natasha felt like the odd one out with her modern day music.

One by one, the other competitors finished up and left the competition area until it was vacated. All of the competitors lined the outskirts of competition area, awaiting the reveal of the winners. The judges had finally finished their assessments and asked that the competitors stand on the outskirts of the arena with their coaches.

Natasha got up and stood beside Ivan as the judges began to announce the standings following the final event. Even though she was in the lead before she began her floor routine, she desperately hoped her name wasn't the first few announced because then that meant not only did she screw up royally during her floor routine, but she wouldn't advance to the state competition.

When they got to the top five, Natasha grabbed Ivan's arm and squeezed, digging her nails into his shirt sleeve. They hadn't announced her name yet and her nervousness was now due to anticipation. The judges had announced fourth and fifth place, and they were now announcing the gymnast who would receive the bronze medal. When Natasha's name wasn't called, her heart started to race. Maybe she would win the silver, because there was no possible chance she was going to win the gold.

The silver medal was announced, and it wasn't Natasha. Her jaw dropped as soon as the girl who won the silver accepted her medal. Then, the judges finally announced the gold medal. And yes, it was Natasha.

Natasha let out an involuntary squeal when her name was called and Ivan picked her up and spun her around. Natasha wasn't one to cry, and no, she didn't shed a tear. But she was in complete hysterics, stuttering and stammering as she tried to get some kind of a sentence out of her mouth. Ivan pushed her forward towards the steps and she stumbled up them to accept her gold medal.

When she approached the judges, she bowed her head slightly for them to place the medal around her neck. They handed her a small bouquet of flowers and then directed her towards the podium where she was ordered to stand at the top.

She looked into the stands and saw her parents cheering for her. Right next to them was Clint who was cheering just as loudly and vibrantly. Bobbi looked displeased as she mustered a measly half-assed clap. As Natasha waved back at her cheer team, her eyes locked on Clint.

She felt like she was invincible, like she could do anything, say anything, and nothing would happen to her. She wouldn't be embarrassed. Her feelings wouldn't get hurt. Therefore, if Bobbi hadn't tagged along, there was a chance that Natasha would have told Clint everything. She would have told Clint how she really felt about him. She would have told him what he really meant to her.

Unfortunately, things never go according to plan and sadly, Bobbi was present. Therefore, Natasha just smiled and waved, putting on the fake façade she had grown so accustomed to.

* * *

**I hope that wasn't too boring for you guys. There wasn't much dialogue. But yay, Natasha's going to the state championships! Now if only she could muster up the courage to tell Clint how she really feels. Hmmmm.**

**As always, thank you so much for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! I know there may not be much to say for this chapter but let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, we've got some drama this chapter! I hope you guys like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha didn't think anything could make her feel even better than she already felt after winning the gold at the regional competition. Of course, she was proven wrong almost a week later when she was at an away game for football. It had been during a boring time during the game when no one was scoring and the ball kept getting turned over between the teams. Nothing exciting was really happening so Natasha decided it was a good time to use the bathroom.

The moment she opened the door, she knew she was intruding on something extremely personal. The moans of pleasure that echoed throughout the empty room were unmistakable. Natasha blushed as she walked into the room and wondered if it was polite to intrude. But Natasha realized that she was just going to walk right in and use the bathroom as she planned. It was their fault if someone walked in on them doing inappropriate things. A bathroom at a school football game was not the place for that to happen.

Natasha took a couple steps into the room, her footsteps echoing off the walls, and the moans of pleasure instantly ceased and were replaced with whispers.

"You said you locked the door," a female's voice hissed.

"I did. It probably got loose Bobbi," the male's voice replied.

That's when it hit Natasha. There probably weren't many girls named Bobbi, and there was only one that Natasha personally knew. If her suspicions were right, Bobbi was currently cheating on Clint and that made Natasha really giddy. The fact that she was so excited to let Clint know that his girlfriend was a cheating whore made Natasha very hopeful in her chances to finally tell him how she felt about him.

But the feeling quickly dissipated when Natasha realized that Clint would get hurt if she told him. Then again, at the same time, he would get hurt if she didn't tell him. She was torn. If she told him, he would be hurt that Bobbi cheated on him. If she didn't tell him, and he found out from someone else, he would be hurt that she didn't say something to him.

There was the sound of feet rustling and the _click_ of the stall door being unlocked. Out stepped Bobbi and a really trashy tall guy. Bobbi's hair was a mess and her cheerleading uniform was askew in places. The tall guy was busy buckling his belt.

"Sorry, didn't mean to intrude," Natasha said icily.

"Oh Natasha," Bobbi said innocently. "It's okay."

Natasha glared at Bobbi in silence. When the awkwardness became too much, the tall guy brushed past Bobbi and Natasha without a word to both of them. The bathroom door slammed as Natasha narrowed her eyes at Bobbi.

"Plan on telling Clint?" Natasha spat.

The sweet girl façade faded from Bobbi's face to reveal a snarl. "If you fucking tell him, I'll - ."

"You'll do what?" Natasha interjected. "What exactly are you going to do, Bobbi?"

Bobbi glared at Natasha. "Don't fucking tell him," she spat and then tried to brush past Natasha, but Natasha caught her arm and slammed her up against the wall, pinning Bobbi back by her shoulders.

"Listen," Natasha hissed, "I've put up with your bullshit for years. Your bitchy attitude I could manage but the innocent girl act I cannot put up with anymore. Clint is a great person and it sucks that he's wasting his time with you. If you don't tell him, _I will_."

"You won't tell him. You would never tell him. You can't even muster up the courage to tell him you love him," Bobbi snapped.

Natasha's face fell as Bobbi made her admission. She wasn't quite sure how she knew because Natasha was usually pretty good at hiding how she felt not just from Clint, but from other people.

"Oh you thought I didn't know did you?" Bobbi taunted. "I'm not stupid Romanoff. I see the way you look at him. And the fact that your bedroom windows are directly across from one another doesn't help. I know you endorse that stupid bow and arrow hobby he's so into, and I know about your stupid message writing the two of you engage in every so often. You wouldn't tell him I fucked some guy before I fucked him because you can't admit your feelings for him."

Natasha felt the anger start to boil up in her and she felt her grip on Bobbi's shoulders start to tighten. Bobbi squirmed in her grasp but Natasha just slammed her up against the wall to keep her still.

"You don't deserve him," Natasha sneered. "You never will."

Bobbi let out a spine-tingling cackle. "And you think you do?"

"At least I like him for who he is. I'm not trying to make him into someone he's not."

Bobbi let out a "hmpf" and she stayed silent. She knew Natasha was right and she just didn't want to admit it.

"You _will_ tell him, one way or another. If you don't, things _will not_ be pretty," Natasha hissed. Natasha released Bobbi and she expected her to go scampering off through the bathroom door to rejoin her cheer squad. Instead, she just stood there with her back resting against the wall, staring at Natasha.

"Are you going to fight fire with fire Romanoff? If so, that makes you just as slutty as me," Bobbi said.

"I wouldn't lower myself to that. I'm not a whore like you," Natasha spat. Bobbi glared at Natasha one last time before shoving Natasha out of the way to step out of the bathroom.

Natasha couldn't win. She never would. There was nothing she could do to avoid hurting Clint. Even when he did find out, it would be selfish of her to admit how she felt about him. He would be broken and vulnerable and that is probably the worst time to say something extremely important.

So Natasha would keep quiet. Not just about her feelings, but about Bobbi cheating on Clint because either way she looked at it, she was going to lose.

* * *

It was a rainy Sunday following the away football game. Usually Natasha went to the gym to practice her routines but Ivan had called earlier in the day saying his house got flooded and practice was cancelled. Natasha was happy that Ivan had cancelled practice because she needed to catch up on her school work again.

Since the football game on Friday night, Natasha kept her curtains closed, even in the daytime. She didn't want to face Clint. She ran out of the stadium Friday night after the game because she didn't want her face to give away what she knew.

Clint had been sending her many text messages since Friday night. At the time, he wanted to know if she made it home okay. Now, he was just concerned that she was deathly ill because her curtains were still closed. He sent one almost every hour asking if she was okay and he sometimes teased that he was going to break down her front door if she didn't answer him.

She never answered him, and of course he really wouldn't break down her front door but the text messages didn't stop. But on Sunday during a period of a torrential downpour, Natasha had opened her curtains to make sure her window wasn't leaking. Every so often when it rained, her window leaked and the rain water would make puddles on the window ledge and on the floor.

She was checking to make sure everything was okay when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She lifted her head just in time to see Clint disappearing out of view but returning moments later with his oversized notebook, scribbling furiously on the paper.

_I thought you were dead_, his message read. Natasha laughed at his message. Keeping the curtains closed for days and not answering any of his text messages was sure to convince him that she had died, but it was still a ridiculous and silly thought.

Natasha padded over to her desk, the smile from her laugh still plastered on her face, and she ripped open the drawer with the notebook. She was greeted once again by the discarded "I love you" messages. The smile was immediately wiped off of her face as she was reminded of her dilemma. She stared at the scrap pieces of paper for a couple more seconds before yanking out the notebook and the marker, turning to a fresh piece of paper as she walked into Clint's view.

_Nope, just really busy,_ her message read. She knew it was a lie. Since Friday night she had done nothing but sit around and watch reruns of _Friends_ while eating popcorn and chips. Today she was going to spend her time doing her homework and maybe watch more episodes of _Friends_ while doing so.

_What are you doing today?_ Clint's latest message read when he turned around his notebook. This was the thing Natasha wanted to avoid. She didn't want to hang out with him for fear of him asking what has been going on with her. At this point, she almost wished she'd never opened her curtains to check on her window. If it was going to leak, then so be it.

_Homework_, Natasha's message read. She hoped that telling him she was doing homework would make him leave her alone. But she knew Clint. He was persistent.

_Want to watch a movie? Take a break._ Clint's eyes looked excited and eager, as if he was begging her to watch a movie with him. She really wanted to say yes, but she knew that if she did, there was the chance she would let it slip that she knew about Bobbi's cheating antics.

She hesitated as she wrote down her reply, the marker angrily scratching across the paper. _ONE__ movie. That's it_, her message read. She looked up from her message and saw Clint grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly, she felt so cold-hearted for ignoring him since Friday. He was her best friend and she had been avoiding him and ignoring him because of something she felt she couldn't keep from him if she saw him.

_I'll be over in 5_, his message read and then he disappeared from the window. Natasha smiled as she shoved her notebook back into its desk drawer. She could do this. She could definitely keep something important such as Clint's girlfriend cheating on him from him. Right?

Within a few minutes, Natasha was downstairs in the family room preparing for Clint's arrival. The flat screen TV was on and the DVD player was popped open, waiting to eat up a disc. Natasha started to make her way to the kitchen to grab a bag of chips when the doorbell rang.

She sprinted to the front door and whipped it open to see Clint with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head. His sweatshirt was totally soaked and the bottoms of his jeans were a shade darker than the rest.

"Hey gold medalist," Clint said as he stepped into the foyer. Natasha rolled her eyes as she shut the front door. Ever since she'd won the regional competition, Clint had been calling her a gold medalist. It wasn't a really an original nickname but that was Clint for you.

"Want me to throw your sweatshirt in the dryer?" Natasha said, holding out her hand. Clint stripped off his sweatshirt and handed it to her. As she started to walk away, she nodded towards the family room for him to take a seat. When she got to the laundry room, she tossed Clint's sweatshirt into the dryer, turning it on to dry for about 20 minutes. As she headed back to the family room, she grabbed a couple bags of chips and then headed into the family room.

Clint was already seated comfortably on the couch, looking through the pile of DVDs Natasha had pulled from the shelf. He was reading the back of one of them when she flopped down on the couch and tossed the bags of chips onto the coffee table.

"So what's the verdict? Action or comedy? Horror or drama?" Natasha asked, ripping open a bag of Lay's chips.

"Let's go with comedy," Clint said as he held up the DVD case for _Crazy, Stupid, Love_.

"Your man crush on Ryan Gosling is showing," Natasha teased.

"Hey, I want to watch it for Emma Stone," Clint retorted.

"Uh huh, sure," Natasha said as she got up to put the disc in the player. She pressed play when the main menu loaded and then walked back to the couch. Clint had taken her bag of chips so she instantly snatched them back and said, "Get your own."

They sat in silence for the first half hour of the film, only making noise by laughing at the jokes or rustling their respective bags of chips. Clint broke the silence during a period when Emma Stone wasn't on screen which meant that Clint really was telling the truth when he said he wanted to watch for Emma Stone.

"So, I'm sorry Bobbi came to your competition with me," Clint said.

Natasha grabbed the remote to pause the movie and then completely turned her body towards Clint. "I don't understand why you're apologizing."

"She whined about not being able to spend the day with me when I told her I was going to your competition. She threatened to break up with me if I went so the only other option was bringing her along," Clint said, his eyes fixated on the bag of chips in his lap.

"Well, that's not your fault. I don't blame you," Natasha said shaking her head.

"She's just very persistent. I shouldn't have let her come. She did nothing but whine the entire time we were there anyways. She said she was bored and wanted to go home."

"That's when you tell her to start walking," Natasha joked and Clint cracked a smile.

"I'm just sorry, okay?" Clint said, turning his head towards her and his blue-grey eyes locking onto her green ones. As soon as his eyes looked straight into hers, she was captivated. Oh yes, there were definitely sparks. She couldn't help it, and she couldn't stop it. There was something there and there was no way to deny it.

However, her mind had to remind her that it was a bad idea. It was a very, very bad idea. He had a girlfriend, even if said girlfriend had recently cheated on him. She had let her guard down for two seconds and her mind had forgotten everything. But she was back on her game. She wouldn't say anything about Bobbi cheating. She wouldn't admit that she loved him. She would just smile, nod, and say, "It's okay Clint, I understand."

* * *

**Poor Natasha. She'd probably kick the shit out of Bobbi if it didn't mean Clint's feelings wouldn't get hurt. So she's torn. I think I'm going to get to branching off to writing chapters from Clint's point of view (in the third person though) pretty soon. Maybe there will be something there, and maybe there won't. You'll see.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of Bobbi being a cheater (I'm sure she's a nice person in the comics but I can't help but make her a bitch in my stories haha) and Natasha trying so desperately to keep it a secret.**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is a bit of a filler chapter, but there's Natasha/Tony interaction, and Natasha/Pepper interaction. Enjoy!**

* * *

Bobbi didn't stop cheating on Clint and it almost seemed as if she was doing it to wave it around in Natasha's face. It was almost as if she was saying, "Ha! I can do anything I want because I know you won't say a damn thing!" Natasha always caught Bobbi in uncompromising positions. Whatever boy toy she had for the week, he always had her pinned against a wall. His face was usually buried in Bobbi's neck while Bobbi gnawed on his ear or bit his neck back.

And it was true. There was nothing Natasha could do. She valued her friendship with Clint and she wanted to tell him, but she didn't want to see him get hurt. Then again, if he found out from someone else and then he found out that she knew all along, he would be angry at her for not telling him. Her wrists were tied and bound to one another.

Therefore, that's how things went for Natasha. Almost every day at school, she would round a corner and Bobbi was making out with another guy, or Natasha would enter the girls' bathroom and there she was, shoved up against the wall with a guy biting her neck. Every single time it got Natasha's blood boiling. Bobbi didn't realize what she had in front of her and she was just purposely throwing it away.

This was affecting Natasha so negatively that it was causing her to lose her focus for the state championship. She kept falling off the balance beam or slipping from the bars during practice. Ivan was starting to grow extremely frustrated with Natasha's lack of focus and usually sent her home early because he was too angry to continue. The state championships were a little over a month away and Natasha really had to work hard.

Her teachers weren't making things any easier. Her AP European History teacher was assigning her an essay every other day. She had an Honors French exam to study for, and then there was the eight page paper she had to write for English class. However, no matter how much work she was assigned and no matter how much of it she tried to do all at once, the thought of Bobbi cheating on Clint was always eating away at her.

"What's wrong with you, little red?" Tony said one day in study hall. Natasha had been staring blankly at the board with her calculus textbook open in front of her. She had gotten as far as writing down the first equation until her mind had started to drift away from her homework to who Bobbi was currently screwing.

"I just have a lot of homework to think about," Natasha muttered, returning her attention to her textbook.

"Yeah, it looks like you were thinking really hard about that math problem right there," Tony said sarcastically as he tapped her notebook with his pencil. Natasha swatted his pencil away with her hand and scoffed at his sarcastic comment.

"I just have a lot on my plate right now." Natasha bowed her head over the textbook in hopes that Tony would drop the subject. However it was Tony Stark she was dealing with. He was extremely persistent, and he was rude while he did it. But in the end, he always meant well.

With her eyes fixated on the math problems in front of her, she heard a chair scrape across the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tony fold his arms on top of her desk and then rest his chin on top. "Come on, spill," Tony taunted.

"No," Natasha said bluntly.

"There is something going on with you and I want to know," Tony said innocently.

"Like you actually care," Natasha said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him.

"Do I need to bring Pepper in for reinforcements? You talk to her so easily."

"Stark, I swear to God. Leave me alone before you get us in trouble or before I shove my pencil up your ass," Natasha spat.

"Oh kinky. I like it Romanoff," Tony said. Natasha glared at him and then shoved him off of his chair with all the strength she had. She slammed her books shut, shoved them into her backpack, and then left the classroom. She knew her study hall teacher wouldn't care. Her study teacher wasn't even there half the time anyways.

As soon as Natasha stepped out into the hallway, she discretely whipped out her phone and sent a text to Pepper. Tony was right. Natasha always spoke so freely to Pepper, and she needed to talk to her right now. Pepper was currently in British Literature so she would definitely be able to slip out of the room unnoticed to meet with Natasha.

_Meet me in science wing bathroom in 5 minutes_, Natasha's text read. She pressed the send button and watched as the message was successfully delivered to Pepper's phone. She shoved her phone back into her backpack and then dragged her feet slowly to the science wing to wait for Pepper to meet her.

When she reached the girls' bathroom in the science wing, she walked right in and immediately started checking underneath the stalls to see if other girls, especially Bobbi, were there. Fortunately, the girls' bathroom was vacated and Natasha let out a sigh of relief.

A couple minutes later, Pepper waltzed through the door and shot Natasha a concerned look.

"Lock the door," Natasha demanded. Pepper furrowed her brow in confusion but turned around anyways and locked the door.

"What's going on Natasha?" Pepper asked when she turned around to face her. "Your message actually seemed kind of cryptic."

Natasha was biting her nails as she paced back and forth in the bathroom. She had asked Pepper to meet her in the girls' bathroom so she could tell her that Bobbi was cheating on Clint. It was eating away at her this badly that she needed to tell _someone_. Now that Pepper was standing in front of her, she wasn't sure she could do it.

"Natasha, seriously, what is wrong?" Pepper taunted.

Natasha let out a deep breath and ceased her pacing. She turned on her heel so that she was facing Pepper. "You need to absolutely, positively promise me that you won't tell anyone."

Pepper nodded at the red head with wide eyes. Natasha took another deep breath as she readied herself to pour her heart out. She'd never even told Pepper that she was in love with Clint. But for all of this to make sense, she was going to have to tell Pepper.

"I…I'm in love with Clint," Natasha whispered.

Pepper's jaw dropped at Natasha's confession. "Oh my goodness! I'm not dreaming am I?" Pepper shrieked at the top of her lungs. Natasha put a finger to her lips to tell her to quiet down and Pepper immediately muttered an apology. "_This_ is what you wanted to tell me? Was this like some sort of sudden realization during study hall? Oh my God, you guys live next door to each other. Why haven't you flirted with him?"

Natasha rolled her eyes at Pepper. "He has a girlfriend dipshit. _That's_ why I haven't flirted with him."

"Sorry," Pepper said. "I'm just so excited. I always felt like you two should have been together instead of him and Cheerleader Barbie."

Natasha snorted a laugh and covered her mouth to keep any more giggles escaping. "Well that's another thing…" Natasha trailed off.

"Uh oh, what did you do Natasha?" Pepper said disapprovingly.

"I didn't do a thing. This is all on _her_," Natasha sneered.

Pepper nodded with wide eyes as if to signal for Natasha to continue. "She's cheating on Clint. A lot, in fact, and I don't know if I should tell him or not. With my feelings for him aside, I don't want him to get hurt but I don't know if I should tell him or not. If I tell him, he ends things with Bobbi and gets hurt. If I don't tell him and he finds out from someone else, then he'll get mad at me for not telling him. I don't know what to do."

"Oh Natasha," Pepper said, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into a hug. Natasha wasn't much of a hugger unless it involved being congratulated on a job well done in a competition. However, right now, it felt like she desperately needed it. It felt good to finally relax.

"I think you should tell him," Pepper mumbled into Natasha's shoulder as they were still in a tight embrace.

Natasha broke free from Pepper's hold and looked at her with wide eyes and her mouth agape. "Are you kidding me? I-I can't tell him! I mean, I _want_ to but I just feel like I can't. And this isn't something you just dump on someone in a casual conversation."

"He needs to know what that tramp is doing," Pepper growled.

"Whoa, getting a little feisty there, Pepper," Natasha said, taking a couple steps back from the strawberry blonde.

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "Clint doesn't deserve this, and she certainly doesn't deserve him."

"But you won't tell anyone right?" Natasha asked.

"Not a soul," Pepper agreed, pretending to zip her lips, lock them, and then throw away the key.

"Not even Tony," Natasha ordered and Pepper's face fell. "You _cannot_ tell Tony, Pepper. He will tell the whole damn school."

Pepper nodded. "I swear on my parents' lives that I will not tell Tony."

Natasha knew Pepper was sincere when she said this. She never joked about this sort of stuff and Natasha knew that Pepper wouldn't swear on her parents' lives unless she truly meant it. So Natasha just nodded and knew she had to trust her.

* * *

**Like I said, it was a filler chapter. Nothing much going on. I'm actually almost done with the next chapter and I can tell you that all hell breaks loose. Uh oh!**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! I know there's probably not much to review but please do so anyways! I love hearing what you guys have to say.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, this chapter kind of jumps around a lot and it's also super long. BUT I think you guys are going to like how it ends. This chapter is based off of two Taylor Swift songs, "Breathe" and "You're Not Sorry." Enjoy!**

* * *

It didn't take long for everything to go to hell. Of all the ways for everything to fall apart, Natasha expected Pepper to go back on her word. She expected her to blab to Tony about Natasha's true feelings for Clint and how Bobbi was currently cheating on Clint. But no, this was all on Bobbi because she was just being stupid.

In the weeks following Pepper and Natasha's talk in the girls' bathroom, Bobbi continued to sneak around behind Clint's back. Natasha always thought Bobbi planned out her secret escapades so it was done just in time for Natasha to run into them. And it was true. Bobbi did it just to rub it in Natasha's face.

But it was during the last football game before Thanksgiving did the cracks in Bobbi's cheating antics start to show. She had been careless and stupid. Hell, she was flirting with a guy on the sidelines while Clint was in the game! As Natasha watched from the bleachers, she hoped Clint would look to the sidelines. She didn't want his game to get thrown off but even if he just glanced over for a second, it would make Natasha feel a little better.

Natasha knew it was just flirting and that was nothing compared to what else she has done. If Clint could just see it for a second, then maybe this nightmare could come to an end. Natasha was sick of seeing Bobbi sneak around Clint's back.

That's when the buzzer reverberated throughout the stadium to signal the end of the quarter. The football players rushed to the sidelines and Natasha kept her eyes on Clint. And that's when it happened.

* * *

As Clint made his way to the sidelines, he could see the cheerleaders and the marching band gathering to prepare for the halftime show. He pushed his way past his teammates to find Bobbi to wish her luck in her performance, but he stopped short when he noticed her with someone else. It definitely wasn't a casual conversation.

Clint had seen that body language too many times. It was something that Bobbi had used on Clint. The way she touched the guy's shoulder lightly. The way she giggled at everything he said. The way she tilted her head to the side. The way she flipped her ponytail. She was flirting with another guy in front of his eyes.

Clint stomped over to the sidelines and pushed the guy out of the way to stand in front of Bobbi. He glared at her before saying anything. Bobbi had a confused look on her face, as if she didn't understand why he was so angry with her.

"Everything alright baby?" she asked innocently.

"What the fuck was that?" he growled.

"What was what?" she asked.

"Don't play stupid with me, Bobbi! What were you doing flirting with that guy?" Clint screamed.

"It was just a casual conversation," she said.

"No, it wasn't," he said bluntly.

"Clint, baby, I think you're seeing things," Bobbi said.

"And I think you should shut the hell up," Clint ordered.

Bobbi was taken aback at Clint's sudden hostility. Her sweet girl façade quickly dissipated and it was replaced with a snarl. "I don't understand why you're so angry, Clint," Bobbi said, shaking her head in disapproval. "I thought Natasha told you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Clint said angrily.

"Natasha has caught me several times and she has threatened to tell you. I'm surprised she never said anything."

"Back up a second. This has happened _before_?" Clint asked between clenched teeth.

"Oh, I think we can get past it," Bobbi said, waving it off and putting a hand on his chest. Clint recoiled from Bobbi's touch and looked at her in disgust.

"God Bobbi, what is wrong with you?" Clint spat. "You just fucked up our relationship all on your own."

"Fine by me," Bobbi said, shrugging her shoulders. "But I think you need to talk to your little red headed friend. She's not as innocent as she seems." With that, Bobbi walked off to join her squad at the edge of the sidelines.

Clint watched as Bobbi sashayed onto the field and then his gaze traveled up into the stands to search for Natasha. There was no mistaking her vibrant red hair in the middle of the crowd. When he saw her, the look of horror on her face confirmed everything that Bobbi had just said.

* * *

Natasha paced in the middle of the parking lot as she waited for Clint to exit the locker room. Pepper had generously decided to give her a ride home and wait for her so she hoped Clint would come out within the next couple minutes. She didn't want to keep Pepper waiting.

She heard the sickening scrape of the ancient metal door slide across the concrete and Natasha turned around quickly to see the football players emerging from the locker room. One by one they filed out of the locker room, but none of them were Clint. After a couple of seconds of silence as the football players dispersed throughout the parking lot, Clint emerged from the locker room.

He looked exhausted – physically, mentally, and most importantly, emotionally – but it was only going to get worse. His eyes connected with hers as he made his way across the parking lot to confront her.

"Clint, I - ," Natasha started but Clint held up a hand to silence her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Clint said angrily.

"I…I didn't know how. I didn't want you to get hurt but I didn't want to be the one to get blamed. I'm so, so sorry, Clint," she begged.

"I thought you were my best friend," he muttered.

"I am but I made a mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake. You have to understand that I was trying to look out for you but no matter which way I saw it, you always go hurt."

Clint shook his head then stared at her in disbelief. "Don't talk to me for a while," he said.

"What no! No, Clint, please. Please, I said I was sorry!" Clint had started to walk away but he turned around to look at Natasha. The disappointment on his face was evident.

"What Bobbi did was a bit of a low-blow, but what you did was completely heartless. I thought I could trust you, but I guess I was wrong." With that, Clint turned on his heel and walked off into the dark night, leaving Natasha alone to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

* * *

It was two in the morning and Natasha was still wide awake. She had to go to sleep because she had to be at the gym for practice at eight but sleep was evading her. It had been almost two weeks since Clint had told her to avoid talking to him, and the absence was killing her. He never opened his curtains anymore. He didn't text her. He didn't talk to her at all when they waited for the bus in the morning. After the third day of silence at the bus stop, Natasha had asked Pepper if she would do her a favor and pick her up in the mornings so she could avoid being around Clint. The silence was killing her and she didn't want to endure it anymore.

When she had returned home that night following the football game, Natasha had angrily yanked open the drawer of "I love you" messages and started to rip each of them to shreds. By the time she had gotten to the last one, she had tears running down her face. She was so emotionally shattered at that point that she couldn't even muster up the energy to shred the last "I love you" message. She had picked herself up off the floor and sluggishly walked over to her desk, shoving the last love note deep into the drawer.

Now, she was pacing in the middle of her room, just wishing that Clint would open his curtains. She knew he was angry but she didn't expect him to take it so personally. Yes, she had screwed up royally. She should have told him and just suffered the minor consequences, but she just had to be selfish and worry about how it would affect her.

But Natasha never expected things to end like this. She didn't expect Clint to give her the silent treatment. Call her immature but she wanted to know why Clint wasn't giving Bobbi the silent treatment too. Sure, they were officially broken up but Bobbi still made constant advances on Clint at school and he always shot snide comments at her for doing so.

However, this silent form of torture was killing Natasha. It wasn't fair for Clint to treat Natasha like this. It almost made it seem as if their friendship was over, just like his relationship with Bobbi was. Even if their friendship was over, it wasn't a clean break. He had shattered their friendship into a million pieces in the middle of the stadium parking lot.

If there was one thing she could tell him, though, it was that she was truly sorry. She had repeated it over and over again in the parking lot that night, but she needed to make sure that he knew it one more time. This wasn't easy for her. The silence had made her feel like she had really, truly lost her best friend. She hoped that in time he could forgive her, but she wouldn't push it.

So as she tugged at the curtains – glancing at Clint's window one last time – she just hoped he would come to his senses soon because in all honesty, she felt like she couldn't breathe without him.

* * *

"Tasha, you need to stick that landing!" Ivan's voice reverberated throughout the vast gym. Natasha had just fallen to her knees for the third time during her dismount from the balance beam. The lack of sleep and the fact that Clint still wasn't talking to her was really starting to take a toll on her. The state championships were next month after the Christmas holidays and she really had to push herself. It was now or never.

"I'm trying," she whined as she pushed herself off of the mat to a standing position.

"I don't know what's going on with you and that boyfriend of yours but it needs to stop!" Ivan ordered.

"He's _not_ my boyfriend," Natasha spat as she crossed to the other side of the beam to start her routine all over again. Ivan always knew that Natasha liked Clint, even though she never actually told him. When Clint would show up for her competitions, Ivan could tell just by the way Natasha looked at him that she liked him as more than just a friend. Therefore, he always called Clint her boyfriend when he clearly wasn't. And right now, he wasn't even her friend that just so happened to be a boy.

Natasha took a deep breath and then ran towards the springboard, bounced off of it, flipped, and then landed on top of the beam. As she flipped across the beam, her mind traveled back to that night almost two weeks ago in the stadium parking lot. The disappointment in his face was what really hurt the most. It was even worse that she was the one to hurt him and cause that disappointment.

As she rested her hands on the beam and then lifted her legs above her head, she felt gravity start to do its job. The tears that had been forcing to break free fell from her eyes to the beam, making small dark puddles. She blinked and looked at them for a couple seconds before lowering her body back down to the beam. She steadied herself as she stood up and took a deep breath before executing the most complicated maneuver of her routine.

Her feet bounded across the beam as she gained some momentum. Her hands connected with the beam as her legs arced through the air. It would have been magnificent if the tears hadn't been blurring her vision. Her legs swung through the air and she felt only one of her feet connect with the beam. The other had just slipped off the edge and she felt herself go tumbling to the floor.

She flailed for a second to try to catch herself but it was no use. The extra movement was definitely going to cost her big time. As she hit the ground, she felt her ankle twist and the pain instantly shot through her foot and leg. She'd had a sprained ankle before. She'd even broken a couple bones, but never at a time as crucial as almost a month before the state championships.

As she lied on the floor, clutching her ankle and groaning at the pain, she couldn't help but blame Clint. If he hadn't decided to be such an asshole, she wouldn't have to feel so guilty all the time. Her mind wouldn't be on him all the time. She wouldn't be wondering if he had forgiven her yet.

"Great, just great!" Ivan whined as he checked her ankle. "We're going to have to take you to a doctor to get it checked out."

"If you wouldn't stop fucking pushing me so hard this would have never happened!" Natasha screamed.

"Oh don't blame me. You're still hung up on that boy. This is your fault. Don't blame me." Natasha knew Ivan was right. Yes, it was her fault. She was usually very good at keeping her mind focused on the task at hand but given recent events, she just had too much on her plate.

Ivan groaned out of frustration and helped Natasha up, supporting most of her weight as he helped her out of the gym to get her to a doctor.

* * *

A grade two sprained ankle. Six weeks of recovery. It was the worst day of Natasha's life. The doctor said that there could be a possibility of her recovering in time for the state championships since she was in good shape but the chances were slim.

It was just a sprain so the doctor had put her in a walking boot but the damage was still done. Even if she did heal in time for the state championships, she wouldn't have time to _practice_ for the state championships. She had royally screwed herself.

She rarely made mistakes as big as this one. Whatever was usually on her mind, she could usually push it out of the way until her practice was over. But it was never something as big as Clint giving her the silent treatment.

When she arrived home that night, her father helped her up the stairs so she could get to her room. Her mother had tried to make Natasha feel better by asking her if she wanted her to make her favorite dessert – cheesecake brownies with chocolate chips baked in – but Natasha had just mumbled a "no" and asked if she could go upstairs.

She hobbled into her room and went straight to her dresser to pull out a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt. As she yanked out a t-shirt from the second drawer, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and she immediately whipped her head to the side to look out the window. What she saw surprised and shocked her.

Clint's curtains were open for the first time in almost two weeks and she'd looked into his window just in time to see him disappear out of sight. She didn't blame him for running out of sight as soon as she returned home. It still angered her that he wasn't talking to her but she was so physically, mentally, and emotionally drained that she just didn't care anymore.

She sighed as she tossed her clean clothes onto her bed and then hobbled over to her curtains to close them. As soon as her hand touched the fabric, Clint reappeared in his window with his oversized notebook in hand. He was focusing on scribbling a message on it that he didn't even notice Natasha had appeared at her window. When he lifted his head to look into her room, he was startled that she was standing across from him, staring right back.

Clint mustered up a wave and a weak smile, but Natasha didn't respond. She just folded her arms across her chest and glared at him, reducing her eyes to slits. Clint's face fell but he looked back down at his message and turned it around so Natasha could read it.

_Are you okay? I heard what happened_, it read. Now Natasha was angry. He didn't talk to her for weeks and never cared about how the silence between them was affecting her emotionally. Now he suddenly cared how she was doing after a mishap on the balance beam?

Natasha didn't move from where she was standing. Instead, she stood her ground with her arms still folded across her chest and continued to glare at him. His eyes left hers as he turned his attention back to his notebook. He scribbled his next message on the oversized paper and then turned it around to reveal it to her.

_I'm sorry for ignoring you_, it read. He was sorry for not talking to her but the damage had been done. She'd said sorry so many times that night and he couldn't forgive her. Then, he went and ignored her for weeks and now he wanted her to forgive him for it.

She so desperately wanted to forgive him. Her chances of competing at the state championships were probably completely out the window. She needed someone to lean on right now so she hobbled over to her desk and pulled out the notebook and the marker. Her fingers brushed over the last love note and she contemplated finally showing it to him, but Natasha shook that thought from her mind as she reappeared in front of her window. She turned to a fresh page in the notebook and wrote down her message.

_You're forgiven. Don't give me the silent treatment __EVER AGAIN_, her message read. She saw Clint chuckle at her message and then he turned his attention back to his notebook to scribble another message.

_I'm coming over_, it read, and then he disappeared from the window before Natasha could even touch her marker to the paper. They hadn't talked in person for almost two weeks so this was going to be interesting.

She heard the doorbell ring and there was the echo of her dad's footsteps as he made his way to the front door. She heard the front door creak open and then the muffled brief conversation between Clint and her father. Then, she heard the front door close as Clint's footsteps grew louder and louder as he ran up the stairs.

Within seconds he was standing in her doorway with a smile plastered on his face. They didn't say anything to each other. He just crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her. It felt like an hour until he actually said something to her. He reassured her she'd heal in time for the state championships.

"I mean, remember that time you broke your femur? That was supposed to be a long recovery and you healed in three-fourths of the time," Clint said. Natasha let out an awkward laugh as he recalled that painful memory for her. "You'll heal just in time, Tasha."

Natasha smiled. She never understood how she could have been mad at him and how he could have been mad at her. They understood each other the best. They knew each other like the backs of their hands.

As they sat in her room, catching up on everything they missed in the past few weeks, Natasha's eyes kept flitting back and forth from Clint to her desk drawer that contained the last love note. She wanted to get up and show it to him. She wanted to finally tell him. If he finally talked to her after a couple weeks of the silent treatment because he was concerned about her chances of going to the state championships, he deserved to know. It meant that he was worth it.

But Natasha realized she just couldn't dump that on him. He had just broken up with Bobbi and it would seem incredibly trashy of her to confess it to him. So they sat there for the rest of the night, catching up with one another, as best friends.

* * *

When Clint had left Natasha's later that night after their long conversation on the past couple of weeks, he felt completely different. After Bobbi had revealed that she was not only cheating on him but Natasha also knew about it, he was disappointed. In all honesty, he had gotten over the fact that Bobbi had cheated on him pretty quickly. It was the fact that Natasha didn't tell him was what hurt him the most.

But in the past two weeks while he was giving her the silent treatment, he did some serious thinking. Maybe he didn't really like Bobbi as much as he thought he did. If the break up wasn't affecting him as much as he thought it would, then maybe he wasn't as emotionally invested as he thought he was.

As he mounted the stairs in his house to go up to his room, he knew it all along. He ran up the steps – taking two, sometimes even three, at a time – and he rushed into his bedroom. He hastily ripped open his closet doors and began searching for the one thing he was looking for.

He'd always denied himself even though he had thought about it many times before. But now, there was no other explanation. As he yanked the shoebox out of the corner of his closet, he smiled at the sight of it. He yanked off the lid and he was greeted with the sight of crumpled up balls of paper. He reached inside the box and carefully pulled apart one of the balls of paper so he could smooth it out.

There it was, in big bold letters, staring back at him as if it was taunting him. It was almost as if it was saying "I told you so." There was no denying it any longer as he shoved the shoebox back into the closet, keeping the single crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He crossed the room and flopped down on his bed. He glanced over at his window and saw that Natasha's curtains were closed. He was in the clear.

As he brought the crumpled piece of paper up to his face, he smiled at the message that was written back at him in his untidy scrawl.

_I love you_.

* * *

**So it looks as if Clint does the same exact thing as Natasha. The feelings are mutual! Hooray! So where do they go from here? Hmmmmm.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of this roller coaster of a chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I really have nothing to say about this chapter. Nothing much happens haha. I hope you enjoy it anyways!**

* * *

Natasha was having trouble coming to terms with her injury, especially with the state championships getting closer and closer with each day. However, she tried to stay off of her ankle as much as possible to ensure that it would heal quicker. She couldn't do much about resting while she was at school but when she came home, she made sure she stayed in bed and rested. Catching up with her homework was about all she could do for the time being.

Clint had also started spending nights doing his homework with Natasha instead of just doing it in his own bedroom right across from Natasha's. It's not that she minded, but she just thought it was strange. Then again, now that football was over and he wasn't dating Bobbi anymore, she just assumed he had more time for her.

But it was strange when Clint brought up the winter formal one day while she was working on her math homework. He had been staring out the window instead of working on his English essay. Every so often, Natasha's eyes flitted from her textbook to Clint, who was staring blankly out the window. She thought it was because there were a couple snowflakes that danced past the window but she knew Clint didn't really care for snow all that much.

"You know, you're essay's not going to write itself," she said as she nudged him with her good foot.

Clint shook his head and then turned his attention back to his essay. "Sorry, I was just thinking," he said, staring down at the blank sheet of paper.

Natasha turned her attention back to her homework, bowing her head over the textbook. She started to write out the complicated equation when she decided to broach the subject of what he was thinking about. "What were you thinking about?" she asked nonchalantly.

"The, uh, winter formal," he said, squirming to get into a comfortable position to write his essay.

"Oh," she said. "I completely forgot about that. I didn't even plan on going because I would be practicing for the state competition but now it's just because I need to rest."

"Well, your ankle's getting better isn't it? The winter formal is next week. You should go," he said.

Natasha shook her head. "No, I should just stay home and rest. Ivan would rip my throat out if he knew I wasn't resting."

"Who cares what Ivan thinks?" Clint said. Natasha rolled her eyes at his comment. It was a comment she used to make when she was trying to make him feel better about Bobbi. "He acts like you can't have a life outside of school and gymnastics."

"Well, I can't. I can barely manage school and gymnastics," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"But now you don't have to worry about it for a little bit. You can go to the winter formal," Clint said eagerly. Yes, Clint was her best friend, but it almost sounded as if he was begging her to go. She could understand why. Bobbi was no doubt going to be there too, and he didn't want to go alone for fear that she would try to make more advances on him.

But if Natasha was there, it would probably make the whole situation worse. If Bobbi saw that Natasha and Clint's friendship had been repaired following the breakup, it could provide for quite a show. The last thing Natasha wanted was for Bobbi to make a scene in the middle of the dance.

So Natasha needed an excuse, a perfectly valid excuse for her to not go to the dance. Apparently a sprained ankle wasn't good enough for Clint. "I don't have a dress to wear," she said, her focus still on her math homework. "And I can't really afford one since I put so much money into gymnastics."

"Oh, right," Clint said, his face falling in disappointment. She could tell that the breakup had taken a huge toll on him. All he really wanted was his best friend to go to the dance so he could have someone to hang out with. Maybe she could make more of an effort to try and go.

"Maybe I could ask my parents to loan me some money. The next time I want a new leotard, I'll just have to restrain myself," she said jokingly.

Clint chuckled. "I mean, seriously, you don't have to go if it's going to put you at an inconvenience."

"I'll do what I can," she said as she looked up from her textbook. She flashed him a hint of a smile as reassurance.

"Okay, and if you can, do you maybe…want to…go together?" Clint asked hesitantly. Natasha stared at him blankly, but on the inside, she was celebrating. She was pretty sure she heard him correctly. He did just ask her to the dance, right? However, she played it cool, keeping her voice even as she responded.

"Yeah, we can go together," she said, turning her attention back to her math homework. She bit her lip as she tried to keep the smile from tugging at her lips. She knew they'd be going to the winter formal as just friends, but the fact that he'd asked her made her all the more excited.

* * *

It was difficult for Natasha to convince her parents to let her go to the winter formal. Even though they knew she was going to go with Clint, they wanted her to rest so she could heal quicker. It was their money that had been invested in gymnastics and if there was any chance of her being healed in time for the state championships, Natasha would have to go by their orders. But in the end, with just a couple days left before the winter formal, her parents had caved and told her she could go.

The short notice meant that Natasha had to rush to find a dress. She was going to have to go with a long one because the last thing she wanted was her walking boot to be showing at the dance. Everyone in the school knew why she had the injury but Natasha felt that if she wore a short dress, her walking cast would clash with it.

After searching at several different department stores, Natasha found the perfect dress. It was a simple strapless emerald green satin gown. It fanned out at the bottom and there was a slight train. The last thing Natasha needed was to injure her other leg by tripping over her dress.

The night of the winter formal, Natasha got ready for the dance in her bathroom, carefully stepping into the dress so as not to ruin it. When she was all zipped up, she carefully made her way back to her room. She entered her dimly lit room and sat on the edge of her bed. She made sure her curtains had been closed so that Clint couldn't peek and see what she would be wearing to the dance. He would see in a few minutes when he picked her up.

She reached underneath her bed and pulled out one of her beat up black low-top Converse sneakers. Despite her dress being very dressy and the event being very formal, it wasn't quite a good idea or convenient for her to wear heels. She sat there and slipped on her lone sneaker and then stood up, fanning out her dress to make sure it covered both her shoe and her walking boot.

She carefully hobbled down the hall again to fix some of her hair. She doused parts of it with hairspray and then fluffed it up. As she twirled a curl around her finger, she heard the doorbell ring from downstairs. She immediately released the curl, letting it bounce up and down, and sucked in a breath as she listened to the voices downstairs.

Clint was here, and even though Natasha looked physically ready, she was far from being ready mentally. Her father called up the stairs to her to let her know that Clint had arrived and she responded that she would be down in a minute. She returned her attention to her reflection in the mirror and began to psych herself up for what was about to come.

"It's just a dance. You're just friends. He just broke up with Bobbi and he probably doesn't even see you that way anyways," Natasha muttered to her reflection. She drummed her fingers against the countertop in nervousness and then pushed herself off the counter and walked out of the bathroom. She walked to her room as quick as she possibly could to grab her phone and her bag and then walked down the end of the hall. When she reached the top of the stairs, she took a deep breath, and then she began her descent.

Step by step, she carefully walked down the steps, holding on to the banister to keep her steady. Her eyes were on her feet until she reached the last few steps. She looked up to see Clint looking back at her with a smirk on his face.

"Hey," Natasha said when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, Tasha," Clint said, his voice shaking a little bit.

"So, umm, are we ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Clint said, opening the front door for her. He motioned for her to step out and she did. Clint was on her heels as he shut the door to her house. Parked in her driveway was Clint's father's Mustang. Natasha had only ridden in it once, and Clint's father was the one who had been driving. Natasha was shocked to see that Clint's father was allowing him to drive it.

"Did you really have to drive the car just a couple feet over?" Natasha teased.

"Well, I did it so you didn't have to walk so far," Clint said as he approached the passenger side. He opened the door and motioned for her to slide in. A smile tugged at her lips as she slid into the front seat, pulling the hem of her skirt up so she didn't snag it on anything. Clint ran around the front of the car once she was in the passenger seat and he slid in next to her.

"What did you say to convince your dad for him to let you drive the Mustang to the dance? He never let you take Bobbi anywhere in it," Natasha said, smoothing out her skirt.

"My dad never liked Bobbi," Clint deadpanned. He turned on the ignition and then backed out of the driveway to head to the dance.

* * *

Clint and Natasha strode into the school gym with just a little bit of space in between them. They didn't hold hands because that would've meant they were dating. They didn't even link their arms together because that felt too awkward. They just walked into the gym as friends who were casually going as each other's dates.

The DJ was playing some lame hip-hop song and both Natasha and Clint rolled their eyes. If there was one thing they hated about school dances, it was the crappy music the DJ played. Though they both loved their mainstream music as a guilty pleasure – Clint's was Drake while Natasha's was Taylor Swift – they both liked more unknown artists such as Metric or Sleigh Bells. That was something Clint and Bobbi never clicked with. Bobbi craved the thump of the bass of hip hop and rap music while Clint never particularly cared for it.

Clint and Natasha spotted their group of friends on the dance floor and they weaved their way through the crowd to join them. Natasha felt her heart start to race as soon as Clint grabbed her hand to help her through the crowd so she didn't lose him. It was only for a couple seconds, just so they could get through the crowd, but it felt fantastic. When they reached their friends, Clint let go of her hand. She felt the emptiness as his hand slipped away from hers and her heart had started to slow down.

Their friends greeted them and they were all dressed as dapper and elegantly as Clint and Natasha were. As the thump of the bass reverberated throughout the gym, Clint and Natasha joined their friends as they moved to the music. Natasha wasn't really doing much dancing due to her injury but she did the best she could.

After a couple more upbeat songs, the group of friends pushed their way through the crowd to get drinks from the refreshment table. The guys had told the girls they could take a seat at a table while they grabbed the drinks, so the girls headed to the outskirts of the dance floor to find a table. When they found a free table, they sat down in silence and watched as their classmates moved to the music on the dance floor. Every so often, Maria Hill would critique a girl's dress and Pepper and Natasha would snicker at her horrible comments.

When the boys had arrived at the table with the drinks, Clint wasn't with them. No one seemed to notice the confused look on Natasha's face when she noticed Clint's absence so she had to resort to asking.

"Oh, he's, uh, still over there," Steve Rogers said, nodding his head towards the refreshment table. Natasha leaned over in her seat to get a view of the refreshment table and her heart sank to her stomach. She could see the obvious nervousness in Clint's body language at his ex-girlfriend talked to him. Every so often, she would flick her long blonde hair over her shoulder or touch his shoulder lightly.

Every gesture made Natasha nervous and she couldn't help but feel stupid for even coming to this dance. She knew Bobbi would try to flirt with him. She knew she would try to win him back. Natasha knew Clint would never see her as the girlfriend type, so she didn't even know why she agreed to go to the dance with him just as friends.

Pepper sensed Natasha's uneasiness and she got out of her seat and tugged Natasha's arm. Natasha swatted Pepper away – her eyes still locked on Clint and Bobbi at the refreshment table – but Pepper persisted and eventually got Natasha to follow her to the girls' bathroom. When Pepper and Natasha entered the bathroom, Pepper ordered all of the girls out, and when they didn't comply, Pepper stomped further into the bathroom to start kicking them out. When the bathroom was empty, Pepper turned to Natasha.

"Why haven't you told him yet?" Pepper asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I just can't. He just broke up with Bobbi, and as much as he acts like they'll never get back together, it sure looked like they were going to," Natasha said. Her voice was quiet; it was almost as if she sounded defeated.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Natasha. You always think about how he'll react to it, that he won't have the same feelings, or that he'll go crawling back to Bobbi. But have you ever thought about putting yourself first?" Pepper inquired.

Pepper had a point. She always put off telling him how she really felt because Clint was with Bobbi. She put off telling him how she felt because she thought he would react negatively and it would change how their friendship was. She always put him first, and maybe it was time she put herself first for once.

"I think he deserves to know before it's too late," Pepper said. Natasha nodded and gave her a hint of a smile. Pepper and Natasha walked out of the bathroom to head back to their table. When they rejoined their friends, Natasha noticed that Clint still wasn't at the table with them. Her eyes flitted back to the refreshment table where he was still standing with Bobbi. But instead looking nervous, he was enjoying her company, laughing at some lame comment she had just said.

Natasha turned her attention to Pepper and put her hand on Pepper's arm just as she was about to sit down. "Don't get comfortable, I need you to take me home." Pepper looked at Natasha in confusion and then Natasha nodded her head towards Clint and Bobbi. Pepper glanced over at the refreshment table and she grimaced at the sight of Clint and Bobbi. Pepper tore her eyes away from the pair to look back at Natasha. She just nodded her head, grabbed her bag, and led Natasha out of the gym to her car in the school parking lot.

* * *

**Yeah, nothing much happens haha. But I am already on the next chapter! And I think you guys are going to like it! Maybe if I get it done later, I'll post it. I work 4-10 tonight so it might not happen so it's a big _if_.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore review away! Let me know what you think of this chapter! Like it said, it's not much but I still love reading what you guys think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh teenage angst. That's always fun. And we've got an interaction between Clint and Pepper, and Clint and the rest of the boys. Enjoy!**

* * *

If Clint wanted to give Natasha the silent treatment when she didn't tell him about Bobbi cheating on him, then Natasha was going to give Clint the silent treatment for absolutely no reason. She couldn't be angry with him for flirting with Bobbi at the winter formal because Natasha and Clint were only there as friends. It wasn't as if he had abandoned her either because he had still been in the school gym within eyesight.

But the sight of him being friendly with Bobbi had made her stomach churn. Going to the winter formal had been a mistake in general but it was an even bigger mistake to have agreed to go with Clint. She got her hopes up after Pepper had given her that talk in the girls' bathroom and now her hopes had been crushed.

When she'd arrived home that night, she immediately went upstairs to her bedroom and yanked the curtains closed. It was only a matter of time until Clint started texting her to ask her where she was, and when that time came, she wouldn't answer.

She knew she was foolish to forgive him so easily. He and Bobbi had never broken up before in the year that they'd been together so she didn't really know what to expect when the breakup happened. However, she did know Bobbi wouldn't go down without a fight. She knew that for sure, so Natasha wasn't sure why she was so heartbroken after seeing them interact with one another at the winter formal.

She unzipped the back of her dress and stepped out of it, kicking it into the corner of the room. As she was pulling a set of pajamas out of her dresser, she heard the muffled ring of her phone coming from her bag. She knew that that was bound to be a text message from Clint so she ignored it as she pulled her pajamas on.

The ringing ceased and it was silent for a couple seconds before it started up again. This time, it was a different ring. It was a ringer that meant she was getting a phone call. She hobbled over to her bed and rustled around in her bag to find her phone. Clint's name was flashing across the caller ID. Natasha groaned as she went around to the other side of her bed and angrily pulled open the drawer to her bedside table. She chucked the phone into the drawer, landing at the bottom with a _thunk_, and then she slammed the drawer shut. Even in the silence before the ringing would start up again, she continued to stare at the drawer as she failed to choke back tears.

* * *

Nine times. Clint had called Natasha nine times before he gave up. After that, he decided he had to talk to the person who Natasha confided in when Clint wasn't available. He searched through the contacts on his phone and highlighted Pepper's name before hitting send. The phone only rang twice before Pepper answered. Before Clint could even get a hello out, Pepper was scolding him from the other end.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to call me when she wouldn't pick up her phone. How many times did you call her? Did you call her like two or three times before you actually gave up?"

"Actually, I called her nine times, Pepper," Clint said icily. "Why isn't she answering my calls? And why did she want to go home early? Is she okay?"

"You know what, I'm not getting involved, but you and Natasha need to have a little talk," Pepper spat. "I'm sick of getting caught in the middle of this."

"In the middle of what?" Clint groaned furiously. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't tell you. I swore to Natasha I wouldn't say anything. This is between you and her."

"Can you at least give me a hint as to what you are talking about?" Clint asked. He had no idea what was going on. Pepper was acting extremely cryptic and he had no idea that Natasha had confided something in Pepper that she couldn't confide in him.

"It's about you and Bobbi," Pepper groaned. "For the record, Clint, she's a bitch. _None_ of us like her. Your parents never liked her, so none of us understand why you were with her."

"And Natasha?" Clint asked. He wanted to know what Natasha thought of Bobbi. There had always been the occasional snarky comment but nothing out of the usual.

"What about Natasha?" Pepper asked angrily.

"What does she think of Bobbi?"

"Oh don't even get me started!" Pepper shrieked. "You just need to talk to your best friend because I'm sick and tired of dealing with this bullshit."

"What is it that she told you that she couldn't tell me? I mean, no offense Pepper but you usually come second rank to me," Clint asked curiously.

Clint heard Pepper let out a sigh as she calmed herself down. "I can't tell anyone Clint. I can't even tell Tony!" she exclaimed.

"Honestly Pepper, if it's this confidential, then you can tell me! She shares everything with me and I want to know why she's acting like this!" Clint demanded.

"Because she's in love with you!" There was silence between the two of them. Clint was in complete shock and Pepper was no doubt punishing herself for revealing that tidbit of information. "_There_! Are you happy now?"

"No, I'm not! She couldn't tell me that herself? Why couldn't she tell me that?" Clint mused.

"It's not sure that she couldn't. She just wouldn't," Pepper said calmly. "She didn't want to ruin the friendship she had with you."

There was more silence between the two of them as Clint absorbed all of the information he had just been presented. Natasha was good at hiding her emotions. She always had been but Clint knew her so well. How was it that he couldn't even figure out that she was in love with him?

Suddenly, Clint felt a smile tugging at his lips. The feelings were mutual. He was in love with her and she was in love with him.

"You can't say anything, Clint," Pepper said from the other end. Clint was ripped out of his thoughts and he shook his head. "You can't say anything. Honestly, I don't know how you've been so blind this whole time, but now that you know, you can't say anything to her about it. I made a promise."

"That's ridiculous! I _have_ to say something now!" Clint exclaimed.

"No Clint," Pepper said calmly. "You _can't_. I made a promise not to tell anyone. I even swore on my parents' lives! You can't say anything to her."

Clint sighed. He couldn't put Pepper in that position. Pepper had made a promise to Natasha that she wouldn't tell anyone that she was in love with Clint and now she broke that promise. Clint couldn't jeopardize Natasha's friendship with Pepper by talking to her about something she'd confided in Pepper with.

"Okay Pepper, I promise I won't say anything to her," Clint said.

"Thank you Clint," she breathed. "I've got to go but you need to work this out with her, okay?"

Clint promised her he would work it out with Natasha and then he bid her goodnight and hung up the phone.

* * *

"Pass the Pop Tarts," Thor said, reaching out his hand for the box. Bruce passed the box of treats to Thor and he immediately ripped open the box to grab a pack. After Clint got off the phone with Pepper, he headed home just to pick up a few things before he headed over to Tony's house. Tony had invited all the boys over after the dance for some male bonding. He used the term "male bonding" because calling it a sleepover sounded too girly for his taste.

When Clint entered his house, he handed his dad the keys to his car and then he headed up to his bedroom to grab a few things. When he entered his room, his eyes immediately flitted over to the window. Natasha's curtains were closed but there was a small sliver of light that was emitted from the room. She was still awake and Clint partially considered trying to call her one more time, but he knew she needed this night by herself.

Once he tore his eyes away, he grabbed a couple items of clothing and tossed them into a bag. As he was packing, his phone rang and he saw it was Thor. He was outside waiting to pick Clint up so Clint hastily threw a couple more necessities into his bag and then bounded down the stairs.

When Clint had arrived at Tony's house with Thor, he was especially quiet. He had been mulling over the new information Pepper had presented to him earlier that night. He couldn't help but think that Pepper had been right. How could he have been so blind?

"Hey, Robin Hood, what's wrong with you?" Tony said, waving a hand in front of Clint's face.

Clint shook his head as if to shake the thoughts from his mind. "Oh, nothing. I'm just tired," Clint lied.

"You can't lie to me. What's on your mind Legolas?" Tony said reaching into a bag of chips. He rustled around in the bag and then pulled out a handful of the golden crisps. He shoved the handful of potato chips into his mouth and chewed noisily.

"No, it's nothing," Clint said quietly, shaking his head.

"It's about Natasha isn't it?" Tony asked curiously.

"What? No!" Clint said defensively.

"Ha! It is isn't it? I was just kidding! Now, you've got to tell us," Tony ordered.

Clint took a deep breath and then let it out. He had promised Pepper he wouldn't say anything. Even if he told Tony, Bruce, Thor, and Steve to keep it a secret, there was definitely no guarantee that they would, especially Tony.

"Come on, tell us!" Tony coaxed.

"Tony, stop it. He clearly doesn't want to talk about it," Bruce said.

"It's not that I don't want to. I can't," Clint said.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tony asked, clearly irritated.

"I promised Pepper I wouldn't say anything," Clint said.

"What? Pepper knows too! And she didn't tell me? I'm going to have a little chat with her in the morning," Tony grumbled.

"She has good reason not to tell you Stark," Clint shot back.

"Why? Because I would tell the whole school? That happened _twice_ and those secrets were too juicy _not_ to tell," Tony said. "Come on Clint, what's going on with you and little red?"

"I don't even know why I'm telling you guys but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Don't let Pepper know that you know. Don't tell the whole school _Tony_," Clint snarled his name and then shot him a look. "But most importantly, _don't_ tell Natasha."

The boys nodded in silence and then gestured to let Clint know he should continue. Clint knew this was a bad idea. Someone was going to get hurt if he told them. That person was most likely going to be Natasha. If this got out, not only would Natasha get mad at Pepper but there would be no way Natasha would forgive Clint.

"I don't know how to say it because it's complicated, but to put it simply, Pepper told me that Natasha's in love me. She has been and she won't tell me herself because she's afraid of ruining our friendship."

"Yes! I knew it! Pay up!" Tony said, holding out his palm to the rest of the boys.

"The bet was if they both felt that way. You only bet on Natasha feeling like that," Steve said flatly.

"Yeah well, Tony, you better pay up because I've felt the same way for a long time," Clint said.

There was an uproar as the boys started to bombard Clint with questions. How long has he been in love with Natasha, his next door neighbor and best friend? Did Bobbi ever know? Is that why he ended things with Bobbi? Why did he date Bobbi in the first place? Most importantly, why hasn't he told Natasha yet?

"I don't know," Clint said in reference to the last question. "Maybe I've always felt like she wouldn't feel the same way. You know how she is. She never shows her emotions to anyone else. But now that I know she feels the same way, how the hell do I tell her when I'm not even supposed to know about it?"

"Just tell her!" Tony said, squealing like a girl. "She needs to know!"

"Since when are you such a romantic Tony?" Bruce said, arching one of his eyebrows.

"Since these two decided to confide their feelings in other people _but_ each other!" Tony said.

"It's not going to happen. Natasha's right. We have a great friendship. Why spoil it?" Clint mused.

"You two are meant for each other!" Tony exclaimed.

"Tony, would you shut up!" Steve shouted. Tony immediately grew silent as Steve turned to Clint. "I hate to agree with Stark, but he has a point. You two are great together. I'm not telling you what to do but you do need to figure this out. And I really don't like when the two of you don't talk. It almost feels as if we have to pick sides."

"Yeah, and we like her better than Bobbi anyways," Bruce chimed in. Clint looked shocked when Bruce said that but Bruce just shrugged his shoulders at Clint's reaction. "Well, it's true. Natasha intimidates me sometimes but at least she cares about your feelings."

"Way to get all sentimental on me, you guys," Clint deadpanned.

"Look, just figure this out. She needs to know. And for the record, if Bobbi were to ever try to win you back while you're with Natasha, I'm sure Natasha would put Bobbi in her place," Steve said.

Clint chuckled at Steve's comment. Maybe dating his best friend wouldn't be so bad. The feelings were mutual and they've known each other for as long as they could remember. They were so alike and their interests were similar. They cared about each other's well being and they knew each other like the back of their hands.

As Clint mulled it over, he realized that dating his best friend definitely wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

**Uh oh, so Pepper spilled the beans and now Clint knows. Then Clint told the boys and now they ALL know! Think this could end badly? Think Tony will blab? Who knows?**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let know what you think of this chapter! I have a long night at work (working 2-10, blahhhhh) so give me some great reviews to read while I'm there! haha**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for not updating for like 2 days. Personal stuff and school stuff is getting in the way. Anyways, I think you guys are really going to like this chapter. This chapter is slightly inspired by the Taylor Swift song "Sparks Fly." Enjoy!**

* * *

Clint decided to wait to talk to Natasha until they were on Christmas break. That meant he had to go a week without talking to her, but he hoped it would be worth it in the end. School ended two days before Christmas; they were given Christmas Eve and the day before Christmas Eve off as a part of their break. Clint hoped that before Christmas he could fix things between them. He didn't really want her to be without her best friend on Christmas.

On the day before Christmas Eve, Clint decided to actually go over to her house as opposed to trying to get her attention from his bedroom window. As he hesitated outside of her front door, Clint wondered if her parents would be angry with him. Natasha's parents liked Clint but he hoped that given recent events, they didn't hate him.

Clint punched the button for the doorbell and he heard the faint bell echo throughout the Romanoff household. There was the faint pounding of footsteps on the hardwood floors before the door was wrenched open by Natasha's father.

"Clint, nice to see you," Mr. Romanoff said. "Here to see Natasha?"

Clint gulped and then nodded his head in response. Mr. Romanoff gave him one more glance and then called up the stairs for Natasha. Clint was nervous when Mr. Romanoff had announced that he was at the house. He half expected her to ask her father to turn him away at the door, but after a couple seconds, Clint heard the sound of feet shuffling at the top of the stairs. He heard the soft footfalls as Natasha descended the stairs and came into sight. By the looks of it, her ankle had healed in the week he hadn't talked to her. She was still wearing a brace but it was better than the bulky walking cast. Her hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail and she was wearing a pair of black yoga pants and her favorite t-shirt from one of her past gymnastics competitions.

Natasha muttered a polite thank you to her father and she waited until he disappeared deep into the house before she switched her attitude towards Clint. She crossed her arms across her chest and started to glare at Clint. Clint gulped out of nervousness.

"H-hey Nat," Clint stammered. Natasha stood her ground in the doorway as she continued to glare at him. "C-can I talk to you?"

"I suppose," she said icily.

"Well, can I come in? It's freezing out here," Clint said, shoving his fists into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

"No," she said bluntly.

"O-okay," Clint stammered. "So…how have you been?'

"Busy," she responded immediately.

"I see your ankle has healed a little since I last saw you," Clint said, pointing to her injury.

"Just a little."

It was like talking to a brick wall. She was barely giving him any answers. They were simple and straight forward. Whatever she was angry about, he knew she wasn't going to forgive him so easily this time.

"Look Tasha, I don't know why you're mad at me. Tell me what I did wrong so I can make it right again," Clint begged.

Natasha shook her head as she unfolded her arms from across her chest. "You're just so two-faced Clint."

"Two-faced? What do you mean I'm two-faced?"

"I just thought you were better than the guys who became friendly with their ex-girlfriends or took them back. I guess I was wrong. You're exactly like them."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Bobbi at the winter formal. You are just so much better than that Clint. You are so much better than her, and I can't believe how friendly you were with her after what she did," Natasha whined. The hurt in her eyes was obvious. Clint knew her too well that he could see it. Pepper was right. He had been so blind all this time. The hurt in her eyes wasn't because she cared for him. Sure, it was definitely an aspect of it, but the hurt in her eyes was because she was in love with him.

However, Clint racked his brain to try to remember what he and Bobbi were talking about while he was getting drinks for them. At first, he was caught off guard when Bobbi had approached him. He knew it would happen during the dance and he decided he wasn't going to give her the benefit of the doubt. But Bobbi started talking to him about her mom and dad and some lame story that had happened since the breakup. Clint had to admit it was kind of funny and Natasha had caught him at the one moment during their conversation when Clint wasn't irritated by Bobbi's presence.

"Tasha, that was just one moment. She told me some stupid story about her parents and I happened to laugh for a split second. For the most part, that was the most uncomfortable experience of my life. I haven't taken her back, and I don't plan on it," Clint argued.

"And why not?" Natasha asked defensively.

He wanted to say it. This was his chance, but he knew that if he said it, it would be the worst timing. She was angry with him and there was no guarantee that telling her he loved her was going to fix it. He could certainly try, but someone could get hurt in the process.

Clint took a deep breath as he looked into Natasha's piercing green eyes. "I don't plan on taking her back because she's not worth it, and my friendship with you is far more important."

"It took you a week to realize that?" she asked, arching one of her eyebrows.

"I left you alone for a week because I guessed you needed some time to yourself. That and you kept your curtains closed all the time," he said.

Natasha tried to hide the smile that was twitching at the corner of her lips, but she failed. "I guess that was a little harsh, but I learned from the best," she said, shooting him an accusatory look.

"Okay, so we're even then," he said with a chuckle. "Now if it's okay, I'd really like to give you a hug."

Natasha rolled her eyes but spread her arms out so Clint could hug her. He wrapped his arms around her and then picked her up and squeezed her. Natasha let out a girlish squeal as Clint continued to apply more pressure around her midsection. "Okay, let me down now," she'd said when she had enough. He gently placed her back on the ground but his hands still lingered on her waist. Clint's blue-grey eyes connected with Natasha's green ones and they stayed like that for what felt like a couple minutes. When Natasha broke away from Clint's gaze, she looked down at his hands which were still resting on her waist.

"Umm, you can let go now Clint," she said, flushing a light shade of red.

"Oh sorry," Clint said, flushing a light shade of red as well as he recoiled from her and took a step back. Clint rubbed the back of his head awkwardly while Natasha twirled one of her bright red curls around her finger as she glanced in any direction but in Clint's.

"So…" Clint trailed off as he tried to search for something to say. "I guess I'll be heading back home now."

"Yeah," Natasha said, sounding disappointed. "Unless you'd like to come in and hang out for a while." It was just a suggestion. She knew he was her best friend, but the fact that she'd given him the silent treatment for the past week made her think he wouldn't take her up on the offer.

"Umm, yeah, that'd be cool," he said nonchalantly. Natasha felt a grin spread across her face as she stepped aside to let him inside the warm house with an equally warm welcome.

* * *

Things were back to normal, or as normal as they could be for two best friends who had just come to terms with their feelings for one another. Not once did they mention it to one another though. Clint knew Natasha was right that admitting their feelings for each other may put a strain on their friendship, but Clint was having a hard time dealing with it.

He wanted to tell her so badly. He never felt this way when he had been dating Bobbi, so this was something new to him. It felt like the roles had always been reversed. When he hung out with Bobbi, he didn't feel romantically linked. He felt like they were friends who would make out every so often. He didn't really love her. He never told her and she never told him while they were dating.

However, with Natasha, Clint had started to feel the urge to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her and when they broke away, he wanted her to look into his eyes with her captivating green ones. He wanted to see the sparks fly when she smiled back at him. These feelings were nothing like the ones he experienced when he was with Bobbi and he was having a difficult time trying to control them.

* * *

Natasha knew something was different between them. The moment they patched things up, she could sense how different things were between them. The fact that his hands had lingered on her waist after he'd set her down following the hug was enough evidence. Not that she minded because it had set butterflies aflutter in her stomach. It was a feeling she never thought she'd experience from her best friend setting his hands on her waist. If it had been anyone else, she probably would've dropkicked them.

As she lied on her bed that night with the curtains closed, she stared at the last "I love you" message that she held above her face. One of these days, she hoped that she would have enough courage to tell him. She knew it was ridiculous – the fact that she could handle any situation with ease – but she couldn't even manage to tell her best friend how she felt about him. He wasn't dating Bobbi anymore so she didn't know why she was so hesitant to tell him.

Maybe, just maybe, if she won the state championships and moved on to nationals, she'd have enough confidence to tell him. And maybe, just maybe, he'd feel the same way. She knew there was no guarantee, and there was a possibility that telling him may put a strain on their friendship. But for Natasha, at that point, it would be worth a shot.

Curious to see what Clint was doing right now, she rolled off of her bed and walked over to her window with a slight limp in her step. She pulled the curtain back ever so slightly and peered into Clint's window. He was lying on his back on his bed with a piece of paper held in front of his face. Natasha shook her head and laughed to herself as she realized she had been doing the exact same thing just a couple seconds ago.

Natasha pulled back from the window when Clint got up from his bed and headed over to his closet, but only enough so she was barely in his line of sight. She watched as his arm that was holding the piece of paper dropped to his side with the side of the paper with the writing facing her. What she saw, she didn't believe.

She had to be dreaming. It was written on the same oversized notebook paper that Clint used to write messages to Natasha. She knew he didn't use that notebook for anything else. It was reserved for her. Therefore, she had to be dreaming. There was no way she saw what she just saw.

She pinched her arm to make sure she was awake, and lo and behold, she was. She blinked a couple times as she watched Clint hesitate. He brought the paper up so he could look at it one more time, before dropping his arm to his side again – paper in hand – and disappearing from the window frame.

Natasha pulled away from the window and sat down on her bedroom floor with her back against the wall. There was no way she saw what she saw, but it felt like the words were permanently flashing in front of her eyes. She could be wrong; those words could be for someone else. But there was no way Clint would use that notebook paper for anyone else.

After a while, a smile spread across her face. It had to be for her. She could be acting extremely selfish now. Either way, she sat on her bedroom floor for a couple more hours, blinded by the words that continuously flashed in front of her eyes.

_I love you_.

* * *

**Now Natasha knows! Think she'll finally confront him? Who knows?**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of their rekindled friendship, and Natasha spying on Clint and finding out that he has an "I love you" message for her too.**


	10. Chapter 10

**It's Christmas for Natasha and Clint! For those of you who read _Fix You_, it's going to seem like I recycled a scene and I kind of did haha. But I think everyone will still like this chapter nonetheless. Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha awoke on Christmas morning to the sight of fat, fluffy snowflakes drifting past her window. Last night, she and Clint had been writing messages back and forth to one another. The last message she remembered reading from Clint was that he would be right back and he disappeared from view. Natasha had gotten under her bed covers and that was the last thing she remembered. She must have gotten so comfortable that she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

She pushed herself up and heard her notebook go crashing to the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the marker roll across the floor. Natasha rubbed her eyes and leaned over the edge of the bed to pick up the notebook. As she pulled herself back onto the bed, she glanced over into Clint's room. His bed was a mess of blankets but he wasn't in it. Natasha figured he must already be spending time with his family.

She pushed the blankets off of herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She grabbed her sweatshirt off the back of her desk chair and pulled it on as she made her way out of her bedroom. Shuffling down the hall, she could already hear her parents making small talk downstairs. All they were doing was waiting for her to get up so the Christmas festivities could begin.

When she got downstairs and entered the kitchen, her parents wished her a Merry Christmas and offered to make her something for breakfast. Natasha declined and insisted she would just pour herself a bowl of cereal. As the Romanoffs sat at the kitchen table – Natasha's parents sipping on coffee while Natasha munched on a bowl of Cheerios – they started to make small talk about the weather. Apparently the snow had started early in the morning and it was only going to get worse. They were expected to get about a foot of snow by the time the storm blew through.

Once they finished with breakfast, they moved to the living room where their sparkly Christmas tree was positioned. Underneath were colorfully wrapped packages that were just calling their names. Natasha hadn't really asked for much for Christmas. There were a couple things here and there that she had expressed interest in wanting but nothing in particular that she desperately wanted.

The Romanoffs passed the packages to one another as they ripped off the colorful paper to reveal the gifts. Even though most of Natasha's time was invest in gymnastics so she wasn't able to have a job, she still had a small amount of money stashed away. She usually managed to buy her parents at least one thing for Christmas. This year, she had bought her dad a package of his favorite blend of coffee and her mother a nice designer sweater she found really cheap at TJ Maxx. They both thanked Natasha with hugs and kisses and encouraged her to continue opening her presents.

It was the usual stuff that Natasha got every year. Some things were clothes. Some things were movies. But there was always the big present that they saved for last. It was usually something she didn't ask for but they knew she would love. As Natasha piled the boxes and packages on top of one another, her parents handed her the final gift.

It was a rather large box with shiny silver wrapping paper with sparkly snowflakes. Natasha looked at the package in awe as her parents egged her on to rip off the paper. She tore at the paper – almost sad that she was ruining such pretty paper – and revealed the present to be a shoebox. She pulled the lid off to find a pair of tall, brown leather boots. Then she remembered these were the same boots she was gawking at when her parents had taken her to the mall to find a dress for the winter formal. She had absolutely fallen in love with them but she didn't think her parents noticed. Of course she was wrong. Her parents noticed everything.

She got up to give her parents a hug and to thank them. Then, Natasha helped her parents to clean up all the wrapping paper and the scraps of tape that had been strewn across the living room. Once the living room was slightly tidier than it had been, her parents made their way back into the kitchen to brew more coffee while Natasha went back up to her room to see if Clint was in his room.

The moment she stepped foot into her room, she noticed the message taped to Clint's window. _Merry Christmas_, it read. _I'm out back if you'd like to join me._ Natasha smiled and felt the butterflies in her stomach start up again. She quickly started pulling a change of clothes out of her closet and dresser and then quickly made her way to the bathroom to change. As she sloppily changed from her pajamas to a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt, the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't leave her alone. She knew this was no big deal. She was just joining him out back. But for what? A snowball fight? To drink hot chocolate while they watched the snow fall? She didn't know and she sort of didn't care. She was going to be hanging out with Clint on Christmas because he wanted her to.

Once she was dressed, she bounded down the stairs, ignoring the protest from her ankle. It was nearly healed by now and she had been instructed to stay off of it for the remainder of the recovery time, but right now, hanging out with Clint had seemed more important to her. She slipped on a pair of old, beat up UGG boots; they were the only shoes she owned that could withstand the snow _and_ not make her ankle brace look obvious. She yanked her puffy winter jacket from the closet, along with a pair of gloves, a hat, and a scarf.

She scurried to the back of the house, frantically pulling on her jacket as she passed through the kitchen. Her parents shot her a confused look as they were in mid-sip for their coffees. Natasha had just laughed awkwardly as she told them Clint had invited her over. She wrenched open the door to the back deck and stepped into the pile of soft, white snow that had blanketed it.

The moment she stepped outside, she saw Clint in his backyard next door. She carefully bounded down the steps and walked over to Clint's backyard. He stood in the middle of the yard with his bow and arrow; a target was set up several feet in the distance. Natasha stopped dead in her tracks as Clint pulled back an arrow and steadied his aim before releasing the arrow, lodging itself right in the center of the target at the other end of the yard.

"Show off," Natasha muttered just loud enough for Clint to hear.

Clint whipped around and flashed Natasha a grin. "Merry Christmas to you too," he said sarcastically.

"Sorry, Merry Christmas," she said as she took a hesitant step towards him. "What are you doing?"

"Testing out my new bow," he stated. He held up the bow to show her. The quiver full of arrows was slung across his chest.

"Did Santa get that for you?" Natasha teased.

"Yes because I was a good boy this year," Clint said as he turned to face the target again. He pulled out an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into the bow. He pulled it back, waited for a couple seconds and then released it, sending the arrow flying across the yard to lodge into the target.

"You really are showing off," Natasha said as soon as the arrow lodged itself into the target.

"Oh, like you could do any better?" he asked almost as if he was challenging her.

Natasha considered it. "If you taught me, maybe I could do better than you," she said slyly.

"Alright," he said, handing the bow to her. She gingerly took it from him. She didn't know the first thing about holding a bow let alone firing it. She looked at it as if it was the most foreign object she'd ever seen. Suddenly Clint chuckled and laid his hand on her arm, gingerly pulling her towards him so that she was facing the target. He showed her how to hold the bow, gently putting her hands in position. Every time Clint's hands touched hers, Natasha felt her heart begin to race.

He removed one of his hands from hers to reach behind him and pull out an arrow. He loaded it into the bow before grabbing her hand and twining her fingers in between the arrow and the bow string. "You're going to pull it back and aim," he said as he placed his hand on hers that was holding the arrow in place.

She was surprised that Clint didn't notice her heart pounding against her rib cage. It was practically itching to burst out. Then again, she was wearing her thickest jacket, as was he, to fight off the cold air. Maybe he couldn't feel how her heart was reacting to his touch.

Clint guided her hand back and then let go to rest his hand on her shoulder. "Relax your shoulders," he breathed in her ear as he applied pressure to her shoulder. At Clint's touch, she immediately relaxed. She didn't even realize she was tense until he'd pointed it out. "Relax your fingers too." She did as she was told and felt her fingers relax against the arrow and the bow string.

"Now just relax and let go." Natasha relaxed, letting out a breath, before she released the arrow from the bow. It hurtled towards the target, lodging itself right next to Clint's other arrows. Clint took a step back and blinked in shock at the arrow that Natasha had shot at the target. "Well, shit."

Natasha turned around to face him and smirked. "We really should've put a bet on this."

"Beginner's luck," Clint huffed.

"Or you could just admit that you're a pretty awesome teacher," Natasha said coyly.

"You think so?" Clint arched one of his eyebrows.

"I know so," Natasha said matter-of-factly. Natasha looked up from underneath her lashes and looked into Clint's blue-grey eyes. She kept her eyes trained on his, but his flickered down to her lips. She wasn't quite sure why he was looking at them until she noticed he started to lean in closer to her. Her heart started to race as he leaned in closer. He was so close to her that she could feel his breath against her lips.

"Clint! Honey, come inside! We need to get ready to go to your grandparents'!" Clint quickly pulled away from Natasha and turned a deep shade of red as he turned his attention to his mother, who was standing in the doorway of the sliding glass door to their back deck.

"We're _still going_ in this weather?" Clint asked, arching one of his eyebrows.

"Yes, it's Christmas. Now let's go. We have to be there by two," his mother said. "And Merry Christmas Natasha!"

"Thank you Mrs. Barton. Merry Christmas to you too!" Natasha said, waving to Clint's mother as she disappeared back into the house.

"Umm, so I've got to go," Clint mumbled.

"Oh it's okay," Natasha said, shaking her head. "Have fun at your grandparents' house."

"Thanks, umm, I might talk to you later, I might not," he muttered, clearly referring to their special notebook correspondence.

"Okay," she muttered.

"Enjoy the rest of your Christmas though," Clint said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah, you too," Natasha said. She handed him his bow – which she practically forgot was still in her hand – as he headed towards his house. She watched him mount the steps to his back deck and then hesitate at the sliding glass door. He turned around and offered up a small wave before disappearing in the house.

Natasha stood there for a couple seconds before heading back to her house. As she walked through the thick snow, she brought her hand up to her lips to brush her fingers against them. Seconds ago, Clint's lips had almost come into contact with hers. It seemed ridiculous that something that _almost_ happened had made her so giddy, but Natasha had hoped that their almost-kiss had taken them a step in the right direction.

* * *

**They ALMOST kissed! I think New Year's Eve is going to be the next chapter and all of the Avengers will be at a New Year's Eve party at Stark's house. Will Clint and Natasha kiss at midnight? Or will there be more awkward and angst between the two of them? Also, I think this fic is going to be 15 chapters so it won't be going on for much longer.**

**Also, good news for those of you who read _Fix You_ and were looking forward to the one-shot sequels, I'm thinking of posting one pretty soon. If you signed up for author alerts, look out for it. If you signed up for alerts for _Fix You_, I'll post an author's note in the story to let you know that I've posted one of the one-shot sequels. The collection will be called _Never Let Me Go_, and I'll just post all of the one-shot sequels as that.**

**ALSO, if you guys have been reading _What Happens in Vegas_, I HAVE NOT forgotten about it. I'm just so invested in this fic and the _Fix You_ one-shot sequels (and then add on school approaching soon) that I haven't had time to update _What Happens in Vegas_. But no, I have not forgotten about it.**

**Phew, anyways, as always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of Clint and Natasha's Christmas shenanigans and the almost kiss.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, it's New Year's Eve and craziness ensues. The fourth section is partially based off of Taylor Swift's new song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." I'm not a big fan of this song, and yet, it's been on repeat since I downloaded it Monday night haha. It's catchy but I feel like she didn't put any heart into it. But whatever. I hope you guys like this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

A couple days after Christmas, Natasha went to the doctor and was deemed completely healed. They told her to take it easy and slowly wean herself back into gymnastics. She took the advice seriously because the state championships were in two weeks and she didn't want to risk another injury.

It was the day before New Year's Eve when Clint and Natasha were corresponding via their special message system when Clint told her about Tony's New Year's Eve bash. She could tell just by the look in Clint's eyes that he really wanted her to go, but she was torn. She really needed to practice. She was finally able to practice her balance beam routine and touch up her transitions on the bars but she wanted to go to Tony's party, especially if Clint was going to be there.

She had to restrain herself though as she wrote down that she couldn't go. She wanted to say yes. She so desperately wanted to say yes but she knew her parents wouldn't let her. They were supportive of her having a life outside of gymnastics and school, but they didn't want their money to go to waste. She needed to focus on the real task at hand.

As she turned around her notebook to reveal her message to Clint, there was sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Clint furrowed his brow in anger and confusion and furiously wrote another message in his notebook.

_You HAVE to go!_ it read. He was begging her. He wanted her to go. This was their chance to have a first kiss, and it was all the more perfect that it was on New Year's Eve. But Natasha had to stand her ground. She needed to practice. She wanted to win the state championships more than she wanted to go to Tony's party. But she still wanted to hang out with Clint. She was so torn.

_But I want to win the state competition_, her latest message read.

_It's ONE night_, his message read.

Maybe she could work this out. The latest she would be at the gym tomorrow night is nine o'clock. Afterwards, she could probably meet him at the party. It was a possibility. She quickly scribbled down a message and turned it around to show to Clint.

_I'll see what I can do_, it read. Immediately, a smile spread across Clint's face. As soon as Clint smiled, she felt a smile spreading across her face and she had to bite her bottom lip to keep it from spreading any further.

It wasn't a promise, but she knew if she didn't show up, Clint would be thoroughly disappointed. That was why she knew she had to give all of her effort during practice tomorrow so she could possibly get out of the gym on time.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even realize Clint had written her another message. He was frantically waving from his window to garner her attention. She shook her head and then focused her attention on the message he was showing her. _See you tomorrow then_, it read. He had a grin plastered on his face. She shot him a smile back and suddenly, she was extremely excited for tomorrow night.

* * *

"Stick the landing, Tasha! Stick the landing!" Ivan yelled at her as she swung around the high bar before her dismount. She flipped three times in the air before landing on her feet on the mat, holding her arms out in front of her to steady herself before raising them in the air to signify the end of her routine.

"That was the best it's ever been," Ivan praised. "Just run through both the bars and the beam routines one more time then you can go."

Natasha sighed as she rounded the other side of the bars to face the lower one. It was a little past ten at night and she didn't think she was going to make it to Tony's party any time soon. An hour ago, Ivan had given her a break and she was able to call Clint and tell him that she was going to be later than she expected. He had agreed to pick her up on his way to the party but she knew she wasn't going to be done in time.

As she jumped up to grab the low bar, she heard the door to the gym slam shut. She couldn't look to see who had entered. If she did, she would seriously mess up her routine and maybe risk another injury. She just followed through on her routine – flying back and forth between the high bar and low bar – before she dismounted, flipping three times once again before her feet hit the mat.

She heard a set of hands clapping in response to her dismount and she quickly whipped her head to look at Ivan. He wasn't standing alone. Instead, Pepper was standing next to him with a duffle bag hanging off of her shoulder. When Ivan shot Pepper a dirty look, she immediately stopped clapping and stayed silent.

"Alright, over to the beam and then you can go," Ivan ordered. Natasha slowly walked over to the balance beam, offering up a little wave for Pepper on her way over. She positioned the springboard at the end of the balance beam and then crossed to the end of the mat to get a running start.

She ran full-force at the balance beam, her feet connecting with the springboard to send her flipping through the air onto the beam. It felt so good to end the practice with her forte. Not once did she have to do any balance checks nor did she wobble the slightest. She flipped through the air for her dismount and landed perfectly on her feet. Raising her arms in the air, she ended her routine and her practice session with a bang.

"Okay, good job, Tasha. I'll see you tomorrow," Ivan said and then left the room, leaving Natasha and Pepper alone in the vast gymnasium.

"That was awesome. You're going to win the state championships for sure," Pepper said when Natasha had walked down the steps and approached her.

"Thanks Pepper. And not that I'm not happy to see you but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at your boyfriend's party with the rest of the school?" Natasha asked.

"I was, but now I'm here obviously. I was a little sick and tired of seeing the disappointment in Clint's eyes that you weren't there so I decided to take this into my own hands," Pepper said matter-of-factly.

"He's disappointed I'm not there?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Oh come on Natasha, don't be so stupid. The boy's totally in love with you," Pepper said.

"I know," Natasha said nonchalantly.

"What do you mean you know?"

"I saw his 'I love you' note. Granted I was spying but he had an 'I love you' message written on the same paper he uses to write messages to me. He only uses that paper for me," Natasha explained.

"Well, all the more reason to get your ass in those showers and get ready." Pepper slid the duffle bag off of her shoulder and handed it to Natasha.

"What is this?" Natasha asked, taking the bag from Pepper.

"A drop dead gorgeous dress, a pair of stilettos, a bag of makeup, shampoo, a hair dryer, a curling iron, soap, a towel, and a wash cloth," Pepper said, listing all of the items that the bag contained. "I want you dressed to the nines though I'm pretty sure you'll look much better than Bobbi does."

"Does she look like trash like she usually does?" Natasha asked.

"What else do you expect? Now get your ass into the showers so we can get going. Bobbi's been all over Clint too so you need to rescue him," Pepper said, pushing her towards the locker room. At the mention of Bobbi being all over Clint, Natasha immediately sprinted to the bathroom. She stripped off her leotard and turned on the shower, steaming up the locker room. She furiously scrubbed at the sweat and grime and kneaded her fingers into her hair. When she was rinsed of all the soap, she wrapped herself in the fuzzy towel Pepper had brought her and stepped out of the shower.

She quickly blow dried her hair and once it was dry, she curled it so that her hair was just barely brushing her shoulders. She applied a small amount of makeup and then once she was finished, she slipped into the dress Pepper had packed for her. Her and Pepper were basically the same dress size and shoe size, so Natasha was grateful for that. Otherwise, Natasha probably would've had to show up at Tony's party in her leotard.

She glided out of the locker room and Pepper looked her up and down in approval. "If Bobbi has gotten to him already, I'm sure that Clint will pry himself from her grasp the moment he sees you."

"Stop talking and let's go," Natasha joked. She pulled Pepper by the wrist and they made their way out of the gym.

* * *

The thump of the bass was shaking the walls of the Stark mansion when Natasha and Pepper pulled into the driveway. Some of the party guests were outside smoking pot or making out. Red plastic cups littered the yard and a couple partygoers were passed out in their cars. Natasha and Pepper mounted the steps to the Stark mansion and entered the enormous house.

The vast foyer was crowded with partygoers who were drunk off their asses. Natasha and Pepper had to forcefully push their way through the crowd to make it to the bar in the back of the house. When they finally made their way to the bar, Pepper spotted Tony and waved at him to garner his attention. Tony motioned for them to join him and Pepper grabbed Natasha by the wrist so she didn't lose her in the crowd of people.

"Welcome back love," Tony said as he poured some rum into three shot glasses. When each shot glass was filled to the brim, he handed one to Pepper and one to Natasha, keeping the third one for himself. He held it up and Pepper and Natasha did the same. They brough the glasses together and then downed the contents. As the liquid slid down Natasha's throat, she realized she didn't quite care for rum. She would stick to vodka for the rest of the evening.

"So where's Clint?" Pepper said bluntly.

"Wow, straight to the point," Tony said. "I think I saw him go downstairs with Thor, Steve, and Loki about a half hour ago. They said they were going to start a game of beer pong."

"Probably wasted by now," Natasha muttered under her breath.

"You don't know that," Pepper said, turning her attention to Natasha.

"You don't know what alcohol does to him. And with that said, he's probably making out with Bobbi if he is wasted," Natasha said, sounding defeated.

"Well get down there little red!" Tony exclaimed. Pepper shot Tony a disapproving look and Natasha looked at him with a scowl. Natasha asked for a shot of vodka and Tony graciously poured her one. She downed the clear liquid before making her way to the basement.

She pushed her way through the crowd to get to the door that led to the basement. She carefully grabbed hold of the banister and walked down the steps. As the basement came into view, she saw the game of beer pong set up in the center of the fully furnished basement. Thor and Loki were on the same team with their backs facing the stairs, while Steve and Clint were on the same team. As soon as Natasha came into view, Clint immediately looked up. It was almost as if he could sense her presence.

Natasha climbed down the rest of the stairs and tried to push her way to the front of the crowd to get a good view of the game. Once she was in the front, Clint and Steve still had all of their cups while Thor and Loki had about five remaining. Back and forth, she watched as the boys tossed their ping pong balls, some of them landing in the cups, some of them not landing in the cups. Thor and Loki's ping pong balls usually barely missed their target or bounced off the rims of the cups.

Clint and Steve still had all of their cups when Thor and Loki were down to one. At this point, Thor and Loki had started to step up their game and had actually managed to get their first ping pong ball in Steve and Clint's cups. The crowd cheered in response to Thor's successful toss and they cheered once again as Clint chugged the contents of the cheap red plastic cup. The nostalgia of Thor and Loki's beer pong toss didn't last for long since Steve shot his ping pong ball into Thor and Loki's final cup. Loki downed the contents to the delight of the audience. The game was finally over.

The crowd began to disperse as Thor and Loki began to collect all of the red cups. Steve clapped Clint on the shoulder for a job well done and then made his way towards the stairs to grab something from the bar. Natasha stayed standing where she had been during the game of beer pong as Clint made his way to her.

"You finally made it!" he exclaimed. He was perfectly coherent and that surprised Natasha. Usually when they attended one of Tony's parties, he got extremely drunk and Natasha would have to help him home.

"Yeah, sorry," she said apologetically. She was sorry she had kept him waiting.

"Don't apologize. You're here now, and the party can finally start."

"It looked like the party was going on just fine without me," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Clint chuckled. "Do you want to go upstairs and get something to drink?"

"Umm, yeah sure," she said in agreement. As they turned towards the stairs, she hadn't even realized the entire basement was deserted. It was only Clint and Natasha who remained.

"It's not midnight yet, is it?" Clint asked. He listened closely to see if he could hear the partygoers counting down the seconds 'til midnight.

"I don't think so," Natasha said. They made their way to the stairs and Clint motioned for her to go first. As they climbed the stairs, the thump of the music grew louder and louder. When they reached the top, they had to push their way through the crowd to get to the bar. Tony was still positioned behind the bar and waved at Clint and Natasha to join him. When they reached the bar, Thor, Loki, Steve, Bruce, Pepper, Jane, and Peggy were seated at the bar stools.

"Congratulations Robin Hood. I heard you and Blonde Bombshell over here defeated Thor and Loki in a game of beer pong," Tony praised.

"Yeah, it was nothing," Clint said shrugging his shoulders.

"It's five minutes to midnight. What are we going to have as our last alcoholic beverage before the New Year?" Tony asked the group.

"I say we go hard or go home," Pepper suggested.

"My lady is a little feisty tonight. What exactly does that mean love?" Tony asked.

"Vodka," she said bluntly. Tony nodded in approval and pulled out enough shot glasses for the entire group and started pouring the clear liquid into each one. When each one was filled to the brim, Tony passed one out of each of his friends and he raised his up in a toast.

"Out with the old, and in with the new!" Tony said as the group brought their shot glasses together. All of them downed the contents of their shot glasses. Bruce coughed as the strong liquid slid down his throat and Steve contorted his face in disgust. The group sat at the bar until someone announced it was a minute until midnight. Tony grabbed a remote from underneath the bar and switched on the TV to show the ball drop in Times Square.

Clint and Natasha's friends dispersed as they coupled up to get ready for midnight. Clint and Natasha awkwardly stood by the bar. Natasha's hands were clasped behind her back while Clint rubbed the back of his head nervously. As it got down to the last ten seconds, Natasha looked up from underneath her dark lashes to look into Clint's eyes. He looked nervous, but he started to lean in towards Natasha.

At the three second mark, Natasha felt something hard collide with her back. She felt it before she heard it, the sound of glass shattering against her back.

"Ow, what the fuck?" Natasha said angrily as she spun around to see a fuming Bobbi. She was dressed in a skin tight black dress. She was swaying slightly in her heels, which meant that she was completely drunk. Her mascara was smeared across her face and she was breathing heavily due to anger.

"_Don't touch him_," Bobbi spat through clenched teeth.

"Last I checked, the two of you aren't together anymore," Natasha retorted. Bobbi groaned and then grabbed another glass and hurled it at Natasha. She ducked from its path but she heard the glass shatter. Pieces of glass rained down on her and she looked up to see Clint pressing his palm to his brow.

"Oh my God Clint! Are you okay?" Natasha asked frantically as she saw the blood trickle down his face.

"Yeah, it'll stop. I'm fine," he said.

"Seriously, I think you'll need stitches," Natasha said.

"That was meant for you!" Natasha heard Bobbi scream. She spun around to face the hostile blonde, who looked like she was nearly going to pass out from being drunk. "If you hadn't moved, he wouldn't be bleeding."

"If you hadn't thrown the glass in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess," Natasha said and then turned around to tend to Clint's face. Natasha heard Bobbi groan again but then heard her squeal out of fear. Natasha turned around to see Thor grabbing Bobbi by the wrist with one hand and a glass in his other hand.

"I think you owe Miss Romanoff and Mr. Barton an apology," Thor ordered calmly.

"Suck my dick," Bobbi spat.

"I think it's time you go home," Tony said, suddenly appearing at the front of the crowd. Natasha looked around and saw that the entire party had their attention focused on the conflict between Natasha, Clint, and Bobbi. Natasha saw Bobbi look around at the partygoers and then left in a huff, angrily pushing through the crowd.

"What's everyone standing around for?" Tony exclaimed, turning his attention back to his guests. "The party's still going. Liven up!" The crowd cheered and the music got turned back up. Thor and Tony approached Clint and Natasha, as did the rest of their friends. Tony asked if they were both okay and reassured them that Bobbi wouldn't be invited to anymore parties at any point in the future.

That's when Clint pushed his way past his friends and followed the same path that Bobbi took on her way out the door.

"Clint, where are you going?" Natasha called after him.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back!" he said as he disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

Clint could see Bobbi at the end of the driveway, furiously typing away on her phone as she tried to get someone to pick her up.

"You want to tell me what the fuck that was?" Clint asked angrily.

"Fuck off Barton," Bobbi spat.

"No, you could have seriously hurt Natasha."

"Oh sure, worry about her while you're the one bleeding from the head."

"Whatever," Clint scowled. "I don't know what your problem is. When we first started dating, you were fun to be around, but now you just turn into mega-bitch every time I see you."

"I just…I want us to go back to the way we were," she whined.

"What the hell? Are you kidding me? After tonight, there is no chance of us getting back together. I've had enough."

"I miss you. I swear, I can change," Bobbi begged.

"No!" Clint yelled. "First, you cheated on me, and now, you just threw a glass at my best friend."

Bobbi burst into a fit of giggles. "Oh best friend? You guys looked like more than best friends."

"That's none of your business," Clint snapped.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Let me make it clear. We are never getting back together. Ever. Is that simple enough for your dumbass cheerleader mind to understand?"

"Crystal clear." Clint glared at Bobbi for a couple more seconds before turning on his heel and heading back into the mansion.

* * *

"She got you good," Natasha said as she wiped at the wound on his forehead. Clint flinched at the sting from the rubbing alcohol as she dabbed at the cut. It really hadn't been as bad as it looked in the first place and once he was all cleaned up, it looked as though he didn't really need stitches after all.

"Yeah, whatever. Nice dodge by the way," he said jokingly.

Natasha smiled at Clint's joke as she let out a small laugh. "Sorry. I wasn't really thinking."

"It's fine. I'm the idiot for not blocking the glass anyways."

"You really weren't kidding when you said you see better from a distance." Clint chuckled at her comment as she finished cleaning up the wound.

"But you're okay right?" he asked. "You're not hurt or anything from when she threw that first glass at you?"

"Pepper checked me. She said I'm fine," Natasha said, shaking her head. "I'll probably have a bruise there later but whatever." Natasha grabbed a set of butterfly stitches that Tony had stocked in his family's first aid kit and she gently pulled them across the cut on Clint's forehead. Clint winced at the pressure she was applying to the wound but it was over before he knew it.

Her eyes lingered on the wound, as did her delicate fingers. As she looked at the cut, she looked sad, almost as if she was blaming herself for what happened to him.

"Hey Nat," he said, trying to get her attention. Her eyes pulled away from the wound on his forehead and instantly connected with his blue-grey eyes. "It's not your fault. It's _my_ fault. I'm the one who dated her."

Natasha felt a smile pulling at her lips and she didn't hold back as she felt her mouth turn upwards into a smile. They stayed in silence for a few minutes as they both wondered what they should say next.

"So, I guess we should get back to the party now that we know you're going to survive," Natasha sighed.

"Yeah, yeah," Clint agreed. He told her to go downstairs and join their friends; he would clean up the mess of gauze and tissues stained with his blood. When she had told him it wasn't a problem to help, he calmly told her it was fine and she should continue to enjoy the rest of the party.

Natasha just nodded silently and exited the bathroom they had been using upstairs to clean Clint's cut. When she was gone, he swiped the gauze and tissues into the garbage can and then packed up the first aid kit, stowing it away in the cabinet where they had found it. Once everything was cleaned up, Clint examined himself in the mirror. It wasn't so he could see what damage had been done. It was so he could see where Natasha's fingers had been moments ago.

If Bobbi hadn't interrupted them, they probably would have kissed. Then again, Clint would've never received a glass to the face. He was actually kind of glad it happened. If it hadn't, Clint would've never felt what it was like to have his best friend brush her fingers against his cut in comfort.

As he looked at the wound in the mirror, it was almost as if he could still feel her fingers there. He reached his hand up to run his fingers over the wound. It stung when he touched it but it wasn't so bad. Natasha was a pretty good doctor apparently.

That's when Clint realized that she needed to know. She needed to know how he felt about her. It was a new year, and as his resolution, he was going to tell his best friend that he was in love with her.

* * *

**Oh boy, New Year's Resolutions. Think Clint will follow through on it?**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of the shenanigans (can you tell I like the word 'shenanigans?' I use it a lot haha) on New Year's Eve.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, I think you guys are going to really like this chapter. We've got a bit of a heart-to-heart between Natasha and Ivan, her coach, and then some interaction between Clint and Natasha. Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted following Tony's New Year's Eve soiree. Natasha was right about a bruise appearing after Bobbi had thrown that glass at her. It was a nasty purple, black, and blue splotch right in the middle of her back. She just hoped that her leotard would cover it up during her practice so Ivan didn't think she'd gone and done something stupid.

Mentally and emotionally, Natasha was drained. She was exhausted from trying to wrap her head around Bobbi's insanity. If Bobbi had been sober, she was pretty sure the whole glass throwing incident would have still happened. Everyone has their breaking point and Bobbi had apparently reached hers. Natasha was torn between feeling pity for her and feeling anger towards her. She was pissed Bobbi had thrown a glass at her and then tried to throw two more at her, but she sort of pitied her for spiraling out of control.

As for Clint, Natasha felt bad that he had managed to take a glass to the face for her. It was partially her fault because she ducked out of the way without pulling Clint with her, but she felt incredibly guilty. She didn't even want to know how bad it was going to look a couple hours afterwards. If she had a pretty nasty bruise from that first glass shattering across her back, she couldn't even imagine how Clint's face was going to look.

As Natasha got ready to go to the gym the afternoon of New Year's Day, her eyes constantly flitted over to Clint's window. It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon and he still hadn't opened his curtains. She and Clint had gotten home at nearly five in the morning following Tony's party so she didn't blame him if he was still sleeping.

Natasha quickly ran down the stairs and grabbed the car keys from the key hook on the wall in the kitchen. Her parents were too hungover from the party they attended so they had told Natasha she could drive herself to the gym. Even though it was just to the gym, Natasha always loved driving herself because it made her feel like she had a sense of freedom.

When she got into her mom's car, she instantly hooked up her iPod and chose a song from her favorite playlist. Instantly, "Change" by Taylor Swift echoed throughout the car as she backed out of the driveway. The song choice seemed right given it was a new year. Things were going to be different. Things were going to change.

Once she arrived, she yanked the cord out of her iPod and instantly popped in her earphones so she could listen to some music as she walked into the gym. She grabbed her duffle bag and her phone and then strode through the gym entrance. She made a bee-line for the locker rooms to stash her stuff and then headed into the gym where Ivan was waiting for her.

"Hi Ivan. Happy New Year," Natasha greeted her coach.

"Afternoon Tasha. Happy New Year to you too," Ivan said rather cheerfully. Natasha shot him a look and then headed towards the balance beam to begin practicing her routine. As she walked towards the beam, Natasha's back was facing Ivan. She heard him gasp and that's when she realized the bruise from last night's brawl was probably showing.

"What is that, Natasha?" Ivan said. Natasha turned around to face Ivan but instantly contorted her body as if she was a dog trying to chase their own tail.

"What is what?" she asked innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Natasha sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I kind of, maybe, sort of got a drinking glass thrown at me last night."

"Kind of, maybe, sort of?" Ivan asked in contempt.

"Okay, I did, but for the record, it wasn't my fault. It was Clint's psycho ex-girlfriend," Natasha said, raising her hands in defense. Ivan let out a sigh and motioned to Natasha to join him on the bleachers. Natasha blinked at him, still standing her ground by the balance beam. When Natasha didn't move, Ivan ordered her over to the bleachers and she did as she was told. She knew if she didn't obey Ivan's orders, things could turn badly really quickly.

Ivan took a seat on the first bleacher and Natasha took a seat next to him. She wasn't quite sure why he was wasting valuable practice time to lecture her. She found it to be really strange seeing as Ivan wasn't a man of many words unless it involved yelling at someone.

"I'm not one to really talk about this sort of stuff but…" Ivan trailed off. Natasha could see the conflict on his face as he tried to figure out what to say to her. He took a deep breath and then exhaled before saying, "You need to tell that boy how you feel."

Natasha was taken aback by Ivan's statement. Was he really going to give her a talk about boys right now? And not just any boy, but was he really going to give her a talk about _Clint_ right now?

"You've got to be kidding me," she said.

"No, I'm not. I wasn't at that party but I can guarantee you there was a bit of jealousy behind that boy's ex-girlfriend throwing a glass at you," Ivan explained.

"Maybe…" Natasha trailed off.

"Was there?" Ivan pressed on.

"Yes," Natasha said bluntly, folding her arms across her chest.

"What did you do?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?" Natasha asked icily.

"Just answer the question."

"Clint and I were about to kiss. It was three seconds to midnight and she threw the glass at me!" Natasha exclaimed. She knew why Ivan wanted to have this conversation with her. Clint was, after all, the reason she'd twisted her ankle a few weeks ago. But Natasha knew Ivan wanted to talk about this so she could focus better on the state competition. If she got it all out of her system, she'd be able to focus properly.

Deep down, she knew Ivan cared about her. His blank disposition and harsh attitude was just a cover up. The man barely showed his true feelings for any of the girls he coached but Natasha always felt like he had a soft spot for her. She was apparently right.

"Look, I'm not telling you what to do but I think this boy deserves to know," Ivan said.

"He has a name, you know," Natasha mumbled.

"Either way, this boy deserves to know."

"There's also the case of the ex," Natasha stated.

"She'll get over it. She was probably drunk last night, was she not?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah, but you don't know her. She probably would've done that to me when she was sober."

Ivan shrugged his shoulders. "You can probably take her down. You're a gymnast."

"And she's a cheerleader."

"Cheerleaders are dancers that have gone retarded," Ivan shot back and Natasha snorted a laugh. She tried her hardest to look Ivan in the eye but the fact that he delivered that statement with a straight face made her laugh even harder.

"Thanks for the encouragement," she said once she calmed herself down.

"Just tell him. If his ex-girlfriend comes after you, I'm sure Clint would protect you," Ivan said.

"One, he did take a glass to the face for me last night and two, you just called him Clint," Natasha pointed out.

"See!" Ivan exclaimed, poking Natasha in the arm with his index finger. "That boy is a keeper. And contrary to popular belief, I do know his name. I just choose to acknowledge it when I want to."

"So it seems," she grumbled.

They sat in an awkward silence for a couple minutes, soaking in the conversation. Natasha realized that if Ivan was giving her a lecture on revealing her true feelings to Clint, then maybe it was about time she did it. If Ivan had to pull her aside during their practice sessions, then it was definitely a big deal. Ivan didn't like wasting valuable practice time so this was clearly a serious situation in his eyes.

"Alright, are we all clear on this teenage drama?" Ivan asked, turning to Natasha. Natasha nodded her head in response. "Okay, good, now get your ass out there. We just wasted about 20 minutes of valuable practice time. You're staying 20 minutes later than intended whether you like it or not."

Natasha shook her head as she walked towards the balance beam, but couldn't help the ridiculous smile that spread across her face. Leave it up to Ivan to go from supportive coach to bossy coach in less than two seconds.

* * *

As Natasha drove home later that night following practice, her mind wandered to her conversation with Ivan. If Ivan had to take time out of her practice to talk to her about Clint, then it really was time to tell Clint how she really felt about him. Ivan was a perceptive person but he usually kept things to himself. He was never one to reveal his feelings or give Natasha a lecture as to what she was supposed to do.

However, Ivan was right. She needed to tell Clint. It was even better that it was a new year. That meant a fresh start, a clean slate. Sure, the last three seconds of the old year had gone out with a bang – or more like a shattering crash. And sure, the first half hour of the New Year was spent cleaning up blood and checking for injuries, but she'd spent that half hour with Clint. That had to have been a good sign, right?

She applied the brakes as she neared her house. When she passed by Clint's house just before turning into her driveway, she saw him and the rest of his family getting out of him mom's car. She cut the wheel to turn into her driveway and turned off the engine. She looked out the passenger window and noticed Clint making his way over to her driveway. She quickly gathered up all of her junk and pushed open the car door to step out.

She rounded the front of the car, slinging her duffle bag across her chest, just as Clint was setting foot in her driveway. Her parents had left the porch lights on for her so she could just barely see the nasty bruise that had formed over Clint's eye.

"Ouch, that looks like it hurts," she said, pointing to his eye.

Clint chuckled. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets to protect his bare hands from the winter temperatures. "It's not so bad. Doctor Romanoff did a good job patching me up last night."

Natasha nodded her head. "Glad I could be of service."

Clint chuckled. "So…how was your practice?"

"Oh, umm, it was good. Just working out the kinks in some of my routines," she said shrugging her shoulders. "Ivan gave me a lecture when I arrived." The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. She was going to have to lie about what Ivan talked about. She couldn't tell Clint that Ivan was giving her advice about boys. More importantly, she couldn't tell Clint that Ivan was giving Natasha advice about Clint.

"Oh yeah? What about?" Clint questioned.

"Just, you know, about focusing…and stuff…" she trailed off. That was about as much as she could tell him. Every single time she pumped herself up to finally tell Clint she was in love with him, she always chickened out when Clint stood right in front of her. She could handle the pressure of the judges during competitions. She could handle the roar of the crowd. She could handle Ivan scolding her for her balance checks on the beam or her sloppy transitions from the high bar to the low bar and vice versa. She could not, however, tell her best friend her true feelings for him.

"I thought Ivan wasn't much of a talker?" Clint asked.

"He's not," Natasha replied bluntly. "I guess he just wanted to give me a lecture about focusing since I got hurt a couple weeks ago."

"Yeah, what was that all about? You're usually really good at the balance beam. When I heard you fell off, I was really confused," Clint said, shaking his head.

"Well, that was during the time you weren't talking to me so I was really pissed off about it," she said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I told you I was sorry, didn't I?" he asked innocently, flashing a smile.

Natasha felt a smile spread across her face. "You did," she stated, "but I was just so angry I lost my focus for a split second and the rest is history."

Clint chuckled. "I'm sorry it was my fault," he said sarcastically. "But Ivan's right. You better focus. I want to see you go to nationals."

"I'm going to try, Clint, but there's bound to be people better than me there. You're just biased because you're my best friend," she pointed out.

"I'm not biased. I know talent when I see it," Clint said.

Natasha couldn't help the next smile that spread across her face. She bowed her head to hide it from Clint but there was no doubt that he saw it. When he said stuff like that, she couldn't help but smile.

"You'll win," he stated.

"Don't jinx it," she snapped. "It's going to be your fault if I don't move on to nationals."

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his hands in defense. "I take it back."

Natasha giggled. "Okay, thanks."

They stood in her driveway in silence. Every so often, Natasha's eyes flitted up to Clint's brow to look at the cut and bruise. She still felt incredibly guilty for not pulling him down with her. Every time she looked at it, it was just a reminder of how much of a horrible person she was at that moment.

But at the same time, Clint didn't seem to care one bit about it. It was almost as if he was proud of it. He'd stood up for his best friend. She knew that if she had gotten hurt, it would have ruined her shot at the state championships for good. Clint would have blamed himself if she'd gotten hurt because it would've meant that he didn't do something to stop it.

"So, I should probably get inside. Back to school tomorrow," she sighed.

"Yeah," Clint sighed in agreement. "Are you going to be busy all week because of the state championships coming up?"

"Pretty much," Natasha said, nodding her head.

"I guess that means I won't be seeing you as much this week." His voice was full of disappointment as he bowed his head.

"Probably not," she sighed. The sudden realization that she was going to be far too busy this week to even talk to him made her really sad. The upcoming week was going to be a week of late nights at the gym and staying up 'til nearly one in the morning to finish her schoolwork. There would be no chance for to hang out with Clint, let alone _talk_ to him.

"Tasha, I l - ."

"Natasha!" her mother said in a sing-song voice from the front porch. Natasha turned around to face her mother. "Ivan's on the phone. He wants to extend practice tomorrow and he wants to see if you're willing to go straight to the gym after school."

"I'll be right there," Natasha called to her mother. She watched as her mother retreated into the house and then turned her attention back to Clint.

"Sorry, you were going to say something before my mom interrupted," Natasha said.

"Oh I…I, umm, just look forward to going to your competition. If you're okay with that," Clint said.

"Oh yeah, that would be great," Natasha replied. The disappointment in her voice was obvious. "I'll give you the details when it gets closer to Saturday, but I've got to go. Can't keep Ivan waiting any longer."

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead. I'll see you…when I see you," Clint said.

"Okay. Night Clint," she said, waving to him as she headed towards her front porch. He watched her mount the steps and then disappear in her house, shutting off the porch light once the front door was closed.

Clint stood in the darkness for a couple more minutes before turning around to head towards his own house. He sluggishly dragged his feet and kept his hands shoved into his coat pockets. He looked over his shoulder at the spot where he had been talking to Natasha moments before. Even if she wasn't around to hear it, he took a deep breath and muttered, "I love you, Tasha," before walking the remaining distance to his house.

* * *

**Ooooooh so close Clint! So close! Damn you Mrs. Romanoff for interrupting! Also, I hope no one took offense to the "Cheerleaders are dancers that have gone retarded" comment Ivan said. It's from the movie _Bring It On_ so I can't take credit but I thought it would be funny throw that in.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you thought about Ivan and Natasha's talk and Clint almost telling her he loves her.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, so we've just got some lunch table conversations between Clint and the guys, and Natasha and the girls. It's not much, and it may seem kind of boring but I hope you guys like it anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

"So Cupid, have you told little red how you feel yet?" Tony said as he bit into his apple. Tony, Clint, Bruce, Thor, Steve, and Loki all had the same lunch period, while Natasha, Pepper, Jane, Peggy, and Maria were all together in a separate lunch period. It was convenient seeing as Tony was desperate to get some new information on the two lovebirds.

"Would you stop calling her little red, Tony?" Clint asked as he poked at his spaghetti with his fork.

"Whatever," Tony said, waving off Clint's question. "Have you told her?"

Clint sighed and dropped his fork onto his plate. "I almost did last night but then her mom interrupted us."

"Damn parents," Tony muttered under his breath. "You know what I think you should do? Tell her at the state championships! If she wins, it makes her day ten times better than it already is. If she loses, then she has something fantastic to fall back on."

"That's actually not a bad idea Tony," Steve chimed in. "Seriously Clint, you should consider that!"

"Yeah I guess," Clint said shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, she wants me to come."

"Perfect!" Tony said. "And we'll come too to support her and give you the little extra push you need."

"I don't think she'd be so keen on _you_ going Stark," Clint said.

"What? Why not?" Tony said, sticking out his lower lip in a pout.

"Because you would put her on edge, and you would annoy the shit out of the rest of us," Clint explained. Tony looked to the rest of his friends and saw them nodding in agreement at Clint's statement.

"Well fine then," Tony huffed as he turned his attention back to Clint. "I guess you guys won't get a luxurious ride to the competition via limousine."

"You're not going Stark," Clint ordered.

"Yes, I am," Tony insisted, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head. "If I don't go, you'd never admit your feelings for little red."

Clint didn't want to admit it, but Tony really was the only one who would give him the push he really needed. Tony could be arrogant and stubborn but he was outgoing and spoke his mind. If Clint didn't constantly threaten Tony, Natasha would probably already know how Clint felt about her. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea that Tony attends the state competition.

"Fine," Clint sighed and then stayed silent while Tony celebrated in his seat. Steve watched Tony dance around in his chair with one of his eyebrows arched while Bruce scrunched up his face in disgust.

"Okay, so what time is this thing?" Tony said once he was satisfied with his celebrations.

"The competition starts at ten a.m. and it's about a two hour drive to get there - ."

"Whoa, hold up!" Tony exclaimed, cutting off Clint. "I have to wake up _before_ noon on a _Saturday_?" Tony wrinkled his nose in disgust and then glared at Clint.

"Don't tell me you're backing out of this?" Clint said slyly.

"Touche Barton. Touche," Tony said, wagging his index finger at Clint.

"So, it's agreed then? We're all going to Natasha's competition on Saturday?" Steve asked. He turned his attention to Bruce, Thor, and Loki and they nodded their heads in agreement. "Okay, good. And yes Tony, you have to be awake before noon. You're the one who's giving us a ride."

Tony stuck out his tongue at the blonde before angrily stabbing his salad with a fork.

* * *

"The state competition is on Saturday. Are you nervous?" Pepper asked Natasha as she shoved a forkful of leafy greens into her mouth.

Natasha shrugged. "No, not really. I've been practicing a lot so I'm feeling pretty confident. I mean, I'm not confident I'll win but I'm confident I'll do well."

"Winning isn't everything," Maria chimed in. "Even if you lose, as long as you walk away with a sense of accomplishment and that feeling that you did well, then that's all that matters."

"Nope, winning is everything," Pepper joked. The girls seated around the table laughed at Pepper's lame comment.

"Is Clint coming?" Pepper asked.

Natasha drew in a breath then let it out as she hesitated to answer Pepper's question. "Yeah, he's coming," Natasha mumbled as she bowed her head to stare at her tray of food.

Pepper furrowed her brow in confusion at Natasha. She dropped her fork onto her plate and folded her arms on top of the table as she leaned forward. "Natasha, what's going on?"

"Nothing," she muttered.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Pepper said. "Come on, Natasha. You know you can tell me."

Natasha lifted her head to briefly look at Pepper before scanning over the rest of her friends seated at the lunch table. "Well, what about them?"

Pepper tossed a glance over the direction of the rest of her friends at the table then turned attention back to Natasha. "They're girls. They can keep secrets."

Natasha knew that she could trust the rest of her friends to keep a secret. Pepper was usually the only one she confided in but she knew her friends would be ecstatic if they knew the truth.

"Clint kind of, almost told me he loved me last night," Natasha stated with a blank disposition. The girls seated at the table squealed with delight at Natasha's confession and then started to bombard her with questions. Natasha stared at them as the words fell out of their mouths like word vomit. When they had finally worn themselves out, Natasha just stared at them. "Are you done?" The girls nodded with their eyes wide with excitement.

"So what happened?" Pepper asked, resting her elbows on the table and putting her chin in her hands.

"My mom came out and interrupted him. Then when I asked him what he was going to say, he played it off as something else," Natasha said, her voice weighed down with disappointment. "I was hoping he would finally say it, even after my mom interrupted us, but I guess I was wrong."

"That just means the timing wasn't right. He wasn't meant to say it last night," Pepper said.

"Then when?" Natasha whined. "This is absolutely killing me. I've known ever since I saw that message on the paper he used only for me. I just want him to say it."

"Why don't _you_ say it?" Jane piped up. Four pairs of eyes flitted in Jane's direction and she immediately turned a bright shade of red before continuing. "I mean, you feel the same way."

The confidence behind Jane's answer threw off Natasha. "Oh come on," Jane said. "The way he took that glass to the face for you on New Year's and you cleaning up his wound later, it's undeniable."

"Plus, we've kind of figured you two would develop feelings for each other eventually," Peggy said, shrugging her shoulders.

"So just tell him," Pepper said, turning her attention back to Natasha. "You already know, so what's it going to hurt?"

"Our friendship," Natasha stated bluntly.

Pepper shook her head in disagreement. "I highly doubt that. If that boy was willing to bleed for you, he's a keeper."

As Natasha let Pepper's final statement sink in, she thought about how it has always been about Clint for her. She never let her true emotions be known because she always worried about how he'd feel. Now that the feelings were mutual and he had even done something incredibly selfless for her, she realized that it was time to actually give in to her feelings. It was time for her heart to take over her mind.

If she didn't advance to nationals on Saturday, everything would be okay with her. Whether or not they admitted their feelings for one another, she would have Clint and that's all that would matter.

* * *

**So, who will cave first? Will it be Clint? Natasha? Will Natasha advance to nationals? _So_ many burning questions! There's only going to be two more chapters so I hope to officially have this story finished before I leave for school on Saturday. (Note: I mean seriously, where did the summer go? I can't believe I'm starting my junior year of college next Monday! Where did _that_ time go? haha) So yes, expect updates to be extremely random and sporadic after Friday. I could update once a week, once a day, once a month. There's no telling. I just hope you guys will stick with me and my other stories. Also, if any of you have recently started up school or are going back to school soon, I wish you all the best! Do well so you can graduate high school and go to college, or so you can graduate college and get a great job. You know, whatever applies for you.**

**Anyways, now that my rant is over, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you thought of the lunch table conversations.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Alright, we've got the state competition this chapter. Who will say "I love you" first? Clint? Natasha? Read and you'll see! Enjoy!**

* * *

Clint sluggishly dragged his feet as he moved from one end of his room to the other. It was early Saturday morning as Clint slowly got dressed and got ready to head off to Natasha's competition. When he had woken up, Natasha's bedroom curtains were already open but she wasn't in her room. Given the fact that she was a competitor, she most likely had to be at the competition early for registration and warm ups.

Clint suddenly felt guilty for not wishing her good luck before she left. She had been at the gym last night and he assumed she got back late since he didn't see her before he went to bed. She didn't need the luck because he knew she would do fantastic no matter what, but the fact that she didn't know he wished her luck made him feel incredibly guilty. He should've taped a note to the window or sent her a text or hell, even left her voicemail. He just wanted her to know.

He continued walking back and forth in a haze as he tried to get ready. He would pull socks from his dresser and put them on, only to have to get up again and grab his sneakers from the closet. When he was finally finished, he bounded down the stairs and headed to the kitchen to grab something for breakfast.

As he was searching through the cabinets for a box of cereal or a pack of Pop Tarts, Clint's phone rang from his pocket. He reached into his pocket answered it without tearing his eyes away from the cabinet.

"Katniss, we're going to be there in five minutes so be ready," came Tony's voice from the other end. Clint just hummed his response as Tony disconnected their call. He tossed his phone onto the counter and continued to search through the cabinets for something to eat. He pushed around a couple boxes of food before he found a box of vanilla milkshake Pop Tarts shoved in the back of the cabinet.

As he began tugging at the cellophane wrapping, he heard a car horn outside. With the Pop Tart package, still unopened, in his hand, he headed to the front door to see Tony leaning out of the window of the limousine. "Hurry up Cupid! We're on a tight schedule!"

Clint patted his pockets to make sure he had everything before he realized he left his phone on the kitchen counter. He help up his index finger as if to tell Tony he would only be a minute and then retreated back into the house to grab his phone off the counter. The moment he picked up his phone, it buzzed to signal that Clint had a text message waiting for him.

_Are you still coming?_ It was a message from Natasha and Clint smiled as he could almost hear the desperation. He furiously typed back a message and sent it. Whether she got it now or not, she would find out in two hours' time that he would be there. He heard the car horn again and he hesitated before rushing to the front of the house. But he didn't go out the front door. Instead, he rushed up the stairs to his bedroom.

He yanked open his closet doors and pushed aside his sneakers and random boxes before revealing the shoebox filled with crumpled up "I love you" messages. He grabbed one, pulled apart the ball of paper, and smoothed it out. He smiled at the message. If he couldn't manage to actually say it to her, then he sure as hell was going to show her. She knew very well that he reserved this paper only for her and her only. If she saw the message that was written on it, there was no doubt that she would know exactly how much he cared for her.

He heard the car horn blare again from downstairs. He sighed as he shoved the "I love you" message into his pocket, slammed his closet doors closed, and bounded down the stairs and out the door to join his friends in Tony's limousine.

* * *

The buzz of the audience's voices grew louder and louder as the group of guys approached the arena that was home to the state competition. Tony's thumbs flew across the keyboard of his Blackberry as he texted Pepper to find out where she was seated. The boys scanned the crowd to find Pepper and Bruce found her frantically waving about ten rows up with several empty seats saved. The boys quickly rushed up the stairs and claimed their seats before anyone else decided to steal them.

It wasn't long before the competition started and the competitors walked into the arena. The crowd of parents, friends, and acquaintances cheered for their respective competitors as they made their entrance. Clint kept a look out for Natasha's fiery red hair and when he spotted her, Clint and the rest of his and hers friends stood up and cheered for her. They knew there was no possibility of her hearing them cheer for her but they did it as loud as they possibly could in hopes that she did.

The competition order was arranged based on the scores from the regional competitions. Therefore, Natasha was ranked fourth out of the entire state. Throughout the entire competition, she would be the fourth person to compete in each event. The standings didn't change following each event.

He couldn't even imagine how she was feeling right now. She was probably on edge, completely stressed out, and nervous. He knew the feeling. He used to get it before every football game but he usually had a team to back him up. For Natasha, this was all riding on her. The pressure was weighing her down.

As Clint watched Natasha stretch and warm up, he couldn't help but hope the best for her. She had the best cheer team in the entire audience but it wouldn't help her win. So Clint just sat back and waited for the competition to begin.

* * *

The vault was going to be the first event for the competition and Natasha felt slightly at ease. She was good at the vault, better than the uneven bars and floor exercise but not as good as the balance beam. It was just better to get the vault out of the way so she could focus better on the other events. The balance beam would be a piece of cake. It was the uneven bars and the floor exercise she would really need to focus on.

She watched as her opponents ran the distance to the vault and catapulted their bodies over it, landing on the other side perfectly. Before she knew it, it was her turn and she mounted the steps to the competition area. She approached the end of the mat and coated herself with the powdery chalk before running full speed at the vault. Natasha did a round-off and then hit the springboard as she felt her hands make contact with the vault. She flipped through the air and then landed on the mat perfectly. She didn't need to take a step forward. She didn't need to help balance herself. She just landed and threw her arms up in the air to end her vault.

She bounded down the steps and into Ivan's welcoming arms. He enveloped her into a hug and squeezed. "That was fantastic!" he exclaimed. When he let her go, he led her back to the chairs that outlined the edge of the competition area. "By the way, that boy is here."

"Where?" Natasha asked nonchalantly as she rooted through her bag for her bottle of water. She kept her voice relatively calm as she answered, even though she desperately wanted to know.

"To your left, ten rows up. I have no idea why he's sitting all the way up there. He probably can't see anything," Ivan stated.

"He sees better from a distance," Natasha said as she sat down in her chair and took a swig from her water bottle. She desperately wanted to look up into the stands and search for him, but she knew it would be obvious. It would make her look unfocused in the judges' eyes and Clint would be able to see her searching through the stands for him. She just sat there with her eyes focused on the competition area.

When the vault was over, the next event turned out to be the uneven bars. Natasha didn't feel quite ready to unleash her routine for the competition but she had no choice. She grabbed her grips from her bag and began to put them on as she watched her fellow competitors follow through on their uneven bars routines. Before Natasha knew it, it was her turn.

She approached the low bar and stared it down. As much as she disliked the uneven bars since they gave her so much grief, she had to go in this with as much confidence as possible. When she was given the signal to start, she jumped up to the low bar and swung around it. She quickly transitioned over to the high bar and swung around the bar. As she reached a high point of her arc, she did a handstand but felt her arms struggle to keep her up.

"Shit," she hissed as she swung forward. She knew the judges saw that. The judges see everything. She transitioned from the high bar to the low bar, quickly swung around the low bar, and then transitioned back to the high bar before dismounting. She took a step forward to catch her balance and then put her feet back in place next to each other as she raised her arms in the air.

She felt her cheeks begin to burn as she bounded down the steps. "I fucked up," Natasha said as she brushed past Ivan. She could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. She knew he saw it too and he was, no doubt, pissed about it. As she made her way back to her chair, she discreetly scanned the crowd for Clint. After searching the crowd a few times, she finally saw him in the tenth row – just like Ivan had said. He was seated in between Thor and Bruce – who were engaged in a conversation with each other – but Clint's gaze was focused on Natasha. She held his gaze for a couple more seconds before offering up a weak smile.

She tore off the grips and shoved them into her bag. She angrily sat down in the chair and she began to go over her routine in her head. She couldn't believe the mistake she had made. She could almost still feel the way her arms trembled as they struggled to keep her body upright. Practically flicking the cap off of the bottle, she took a swig of water and then placed the cap back on.

Even though the uneven bars were usually one of her weaker performances, she never had difficulty keeping her body upright during a handstand. Now, she wasn't even sure how much that would affect her. As she watched her fellow competitors swing around the bars with ease, she realized she was probably going to have to get a perfect score in both the balance beam and the floor exercise to move on to nationals.

* * *

Her balance beam routine was perfection. She always felt comfortable on the beam as she flipped and arced through the air. The rush was always absolutely amazing, which is probably why Natasha found it to be her forte. As she rushed down the steps, she hoped that her score was perfect. If they gave her deductions, she hoped it was for extremely minor things. And she hoped they would be minor deductions.

The final event was the floor exercise and Natasha really had to be on her game. If she had any deductions from her balance beam routine, she was really going to have to step up her game even more for the floor exercise. The first three competitors had finished their routines. To be honest, Natasha didn't find them to be all that fantastic. One of her opponents even came extremely close to stepping out of bounds, and secretly, Natasha hoped that she really did.

When it was Natasha's turn, she planted her feet in the corner of the big blue square as she awaited her music to start. She heard the first few notes of the _Atonement_ score she had chosen and thrust herself across the floor. She flipped. She did cartwheels and back handsprings. She bounded across the floor with determination. When she was finished, she posed to signify the end of her routine and then rushed out of the competition area.

Ivan looked pleased with her performance and snaked an arm across her shoulders as he led her back to the chairs. Natasha was nervous that she had messed up. She probably stepped out of bounds or struggled as she landed on her feet. There had to have been something wrong with her routine. There just had to be.

Once all of the competitors had finished, everyone pulled on their sweat pants and sweatshirts as they prepared for the medal ceremony. Usually the judges reveal the scores after each event, but to build up anticipation, they weren't going to reveal the scores until the ceremony. Natasha pulled on her pants and her sweatshirt and then joined her fellow competitors.

As the judges read through the names of competitors who didn't place or placed low, Natasha desperately wanted to bite her nails. It was something she did when she was extremely nervous and under huge amounts of pressure but she just kept her hands at her sides. As the judges got closer and closer to announcing the medals, Natasha balled her hands into fists. If she couldn't bite her nails, she was going to dig her nails into the skin of her palms.

Once the judges announced fourth place, Natasha's heart began to race. Her name hadn't been announced yet so that meant she was going to receive either the bronze, silver, or gold medal. She would be perfectly content with bronze, but the bronze meant that you didn't advance to nationals. Only receiving the silver or gold meant that you moved forward.

Natasha let out a breath of relief as another girl was announced as the winner of the bronze medal. This meant that Natasha was moving onto nationals. Her rank, however, was unknown. She waited with bated breath as the judges hesitated to announce the rankings for the gold and silver medals.

"And in second place, the silver medal. With a 9.8 on the balance beam, an 8.9 on the uneven bars, a 9.0 on the vault, and an 8.9 on the floor exercise…" the announcer trailed off. They were clearly going to drag this out. "Miss Natasha Romanoff."

Second place was fine with Natasha as she walked forward to accept the medal. She bowed her head as the judges placed the medal around her neck and then joined the bronze medalist on the podium. So what if there was one girl better than her in the state? Who knows, maybe this girl could slip up at nationals and Natasha could beat her. Then again, there would be 98 other competitors Natasha would have to beat other than the gold medalist from her state. Natasha could handle it, but until then, she would just have to work a little harder.

As the gold medalist stepped up to the top of the podium, Natasha saw her grinning from ear to as she waved to her parents in the first row of the stands. That's when Natasha's eyes flitted up to the tenth row where Clint was sitting. She expected to see his face with a smile reaching from ear to ear. Instead, she saw those big bold letters on the paper he reserved only for her.

_I love you_.

* * *

**HE SAID IT! Well, he showed her the love message, but he caved first! Yay! And Natasha's going to nationals! Hooray! Next chapter will be Natasha confronting Clint following the state competition. What will happen? Who knows! There's only one chapter left until this story is finished.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of the state competition and Clint's "I love you" confession.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Alright, here's the final chapter. Part of it is based on "Sparks Fly" (again). Then I also incorporate "You Belong With Me," and then the last part is based on "Long Live." (Disclaimer: I don't own ANY of these songs, all of them belong to Taylor Swift.)**

**So here it is. It's a little short so I hope it isn't too disappointing. But enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha ran her fingers over the silver medal as she made her way out of the locker room. It had been a long day, a long and exhausting day. It was eight o'clock at night and she desperately wanted something to eat. She would settle for a cheeseburger if that was all she could get. Just as long as she ate _something_, she would be content.

"Alright, now we need to start strategizing for nationals," Ivan said as he followed her out of the locker room. "I want you to _win_ nationals. I don't want you to come in second place. We want gold not silver…" Natasha had stopped listening the moment she looked up to see Clint leaning against the wall further down the hall with his arms crossed. She stopped dead in her tracks while Ivan took a couple steps forward before realizing Natasha wasn't by his side anymore.

He turned around to see Natasha's gaze fixed on Clint. He closed the distance between them and stood in front of her, blocking her view of Clint. "Don't hurt his feelings," Ivan joked.

Natasha rolled her eyes as she felt a smile spread across her face. "I promise I won't hurt his feelings."

"Because that boy loves you," Ivan said.

"I know. The whole arena knows thanks to his little stunt," Natasha said with a smirk.

Ivan nodded and then clapped a hand on her shoulder before walking off down the hall. Natasha waited for Ivan to disappear around the corner before closing the distance between her and Clint. Clint pushed himself off of the wall to meet Natasha halfway.

"I believe congratulations are in order," Clint stated.

"Thank you. Anything else?" Natasha asked.

"You should've gotten a higher score for the floor exercise."

"And?"

"And that medal looks really heavy."

"And?" She was going to coax it out of him if she had to. He pretty much showed the entire arena his feelings for her, but now he was having a hard time actually saying it. She was going to give him that push he needed.

"And…I'm kind of, sort of, maybe in love you," Clint said.

"Kind of, maybe, sort of?" she asked teasingly.

"I am. I'm in love with you," Clint stated. He let out a breath of relief, as if he was happy to have finally said it out loud.

"That's cool, because I'm kind of, maybe, sort of in love with you," Natasha said teasingly.

"Kind of, maybe, sort of?" he said mockingly.

"Yeah, kind of, maybe, sort of," she said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. It was obvious that she was teasing him.

Clint chuckled. "So where do we go from here?"

Natasha pursed her lips as she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh I don't know…" she trailed off. "Maybe you could…I don't know…"

"Are you asking me to kiss you?" he asked, arching one of his eyebrows. He knew it had to happen at one point. There had been one too many failed attempts and he desperately wanted to kiss her. He actually found it kind of funny that she was asking.

Clint didn't receive any sort of response from her so he just leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. He wasn't quite sure what to expect, but there was definitely sparks. No, it wasn't just sparks. It was the grand finale of a fireworks show. He felt her fingers tangle into his hair and he reached his hands up to gently touch the sides of her face.

"Well, that went a lot smoother than I expected," Natasha said when they finally pulled away from each other. "Considering how past attempts have gone."

Clint chuckled. "Well, Bobbi's not here now, so…" he trailed off.

"Stop trying to make it seem as if Bobbi was trying to hold you back. You were just being a wuss," Natasha teased.

"Was not," Clint shot back like a four-year-old.

Natasha giggled at Clint's response as she bowed her head to look at her silver medal. "I'm really glad you came, Clint," Natasha mumbled.

"Anything for you," he said. Natasha lifted up her head and gave him a smirk.

"By the way, I have something to show you when we get home," she said as she grabbed his head and led him down the hall.

* * *

When Clint and Natasha returned home later that night, Natasha grabbed Clint by the hand and guided him into her house and up the stairs to her bedroom. The moment they reached her bedroom, Natasha let go of Clint's hand and made a bee-line for her desk. Clint stood in the doorway while he watched her wrench open the desk drawer and root around in it. After a few seconds of searching, she pulled out a crumbled piece of paper and turned around to face Clint.

"Since you decided to share your message with me, it only seems fair that I do the same." She hesitated as she looked down at her own "I love you" message before turning it around for Clint to see. The big bold letters mimicked Clint's message and he smiled.

Everything was coming together. He would never admit that he knew she was in love with him, and she would never admit that she knew he was in love with her. Clint leaned in one more time to kiss her. He knew there would be no interruptions. Bobbi wouldn't intervene. Her parents knew better than to interrupt. There weren't secrets between them anymore; there weren't any boundaries.

When Clint pulled away from her and stared into her vibrant green eyes, he realized he was foolish to have ignored her after all this time. She understood Clint. She liked his humor. She liked the same music as him. She'd been in front of him all this time and he was so blind. It was so obvious. He belonged with her, and she belonged with him.

* * *

_3 months later_

Natasha stood on the second lowest part of the podium as he ran her fingers over the silver medal. So she hadn't earned the gold medal like she wanted. Or more like Ivan had wanted. She was perfectly fine with another silver medal. Being second in the country really wasn't such a bad title.

From her right, the girl who won the gold was beaming with excitement as she waved to her family and friends in the stands. That could've been Natasha. She could've won the gold and advanced to the international competition in which she would compete against girls from France, China, and her native country, Russia. The international competition would even give her a chance to be considered for the next Summer Olympics.

But it was obvious that she was perfectly content with her silver medal. She already had a gold medal from the regional competition, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with winning silver. It was just another medal to add to her collection of awards, medals, and trophies.

Maybe this was the end of her gymnastics career then. There was nothing that she wanted more than to be a normal high school student who went to dances and hung out with her friends. It's not like she would forget moments like this when the crowds in the stands went wild over the winners. She would remember the feeling of accomplishment she would get every time she placed at a competition.

As she lifted her head, she scanned the crowd for her own cheer team. She hadn't had time during the competition to search for them, and Ivan didn't even point them out to her if he knew. Row by row, she searched for them and her eyes stopped on the sign that Clint was holding up. She smiled as she giggled at his sign written on the notebook paper that was reserved only for her.

_Prom?_

Some things never change.

* * *

**And there you have it. The final chapter of **_**You Belong With Me**_**. I hope it wasn't disappointing. Thank you all for reading this fic and for enjoying it. A shout out to all of the reviewers: fromPoetrytoProse, BLUEDYNAMO12, agent-HAWKEYE, yolynnjones, soccerkeeper6, solargirl29, Cassandra S. Fisher, mellbell12123, ellabella89, Who Says It's A Rebellion, Waterlilies, Hamsta97, dontstopthelove15, Hecobiza, Abstractly Sydney, Jaymie, little-black-blue-hood, All4TheBest, Megan, It's a Story, Emilia Rachana Cooper, Amber-Jade James, random-writer-grl, LittleMissMia123, AlexanderLudwigIsMyObsession , fanboyReader, flarey phoenix, Ninjababe09, thesmartblonde23, beccabearlove, WielderofBlade, Lollypops101, collective2220, jitrenda, AvengerGal, Rammerjammer14, and me and him vs the world.**

**Thank you guys so much for sticking with this story, not to mention sticking with it for being a story that ties in Taylor Swift songs haha. Not everyone likes Taylor Swift but thank you for reading this despite it.**

**Like I said, I return to school on Saturday so updates will be sporadic after that. I still have until Friday to update some stories so keep an eye out for updates to **_**Never Let Me Go**_** and **_**What Happens in Vegas**_**. I can maybe fit in at least two or three updates in the meantime. And that's a big MAYBE.**

**But anyways, thank you guys so, so much for reading my work. It really means a lot. I love you all! Thank you!**


End file.
